V 


a 


'f-ff 


\ 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 


WHAT     IS 

THIS 

SPIRITUALISM? 


BY 

HORACE  LEAF 

n 


* '» > J  » 


NEW  XaJr  YORK 
GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


L^ 


iRY 

EDUC. 

PSYCH. 

LIBRARY 


COPYRIGHT.  1919. 
BY  GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


PRINTED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OP  AMERICA 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I  The  Case  for  Spiritualism 9 

II  What  Spiritualism  Teaches     ....  38 

III  What  Spifjtualism  Teaches — Continued  54 

IV  Why  I  Became  a  Spiritualist  ....  72 

V  Authenticated   Cases  op  Spirit  Com- 
munications    93 

VI  Mediums  True  and  False 120 

VII  Clairvoyance  or  "Clear-Seeing"    .    .  144 

VIII  The  Antiquity  of  Spiritualism    .    .    .  166 


405752 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 


>  >     1   J  5 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRITUALISM 

The  growing  popularity  of  Spiritualism;  its  unique  position; 
leads  to  a  clearer  conception  of  life;  the  Churches  and 
Spiritualism;  Rev.  R.  J.  Campbell;  has  convinced  many 
scientists  of  survival  of  bodily  death;  controversy  in 
nineteenth  century;  opponents'  methods;  Professor  Tyn- 
dall;  Mr.  Edward  Clodd;  Dr.  W.  J.  Carpenter;  support- 
ers' methods;  Sir  William  Crookes;  Psychic  i^orce; 
Cesare  Lombroso;  biology  and  psychology  of  phantoms 
may  be  constructed;  Sir  Oliver  Lodge;  *^ Raymond"; 
table-tiltings  and  rappings;  their  evidential  value;  scien- 
tific experiments  with  D.  D.  Home  and  Florence  Cook; 
materialisation  of  *' Katie  King";  Sir  W.  Crookes  sees 
medium  and  spirit  together;  photographs  spirit  form; 
Dr.  W.  J.  Crawford;  Miss  Kathleen  Goligher;  the  ** in- 
visible operators";  seance  in  the  light;  levitations  and 
raps;  Dr.  Crawford's  theories;  trance  control  of  Miss 
Goligher. 

For  nearly  three-fourths  of  a  century  the 
public  has  been  more  or  less  interested  in  the 
subject  of  Modern  Spiritualism.  During  the 
course  of  the  great  war,  whilst  other  reli- 

9 


;*;■'.,  yviiA't  is  this  spiritualism? 

•  groii'g'boaies'ii^ve  frequently  complained  of 
failure  or  ill-success,  Spiritualism  has  rap- 
idly increased  in  popularity  and  is  to-day 
probably  the  only  religious  movement  in  the 
West  that  is  growing.  The  world  has  now 
made  the  discovery  that  instead  of  being 
composed  of  a  small  number  of  ignorant  and 
superstitious  people,  whose  sole  interest  is 
in  table-rappings  and  '^ weird"  manifesta- 
tions, it  is  represented  by  many  persons 
commanding  respect  in  other  departments 
of  activity.  This  is  exactly  what  one  of  its 
most  illustrious  opponents — Ernest  Haeckel 
— ^pointed  out  nearly  twenty  years  ago. 

Spiritualism  has  invaded  the  homes  of 
prince  and  peasant  alike,  and  many  of  the 
greatest  minds,  including  eminent  scientists, 
have  made  it  a  matter  of  special  study ;  and 
whilst  some  have  been  unconvinced,  others 
have  become  its  enthusiastic  advocates. 
This  is  unique  in  the  history  of  religion,  be- 
cause the  claims  of  Modern  Spiritualism  rest 
upon  an  entirely  different  basis  to  that  of 
other  religious  beliefs.  Whereas  faith  is  the 
particular  foimdation  of  Christianity,  Mo- 
hammedanism, Buddhism,  and  Hinduism, 

10 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRITUALISM 

experiment  is  the  foundation  of  Spiritual- 
ism. In  other  words,  it  is  a  science  as  well 
as  a  religion.  In  one  sense  its  devotees  re- 
gard it  as  a  science  throwing  fresh  light  on 
the  great  problem  of  existence.  In  another 
sense  it  is  an  illumination  leading  to  a 
clearer  appreciation  of  the  spiritual  and 
philosophical  value  of  life.  That  is  no  doubt 
why  so  many  of  its  bitterest  opponents  have 
been  leaders  in  religious  thought.  Full  of 
confidence  in  the  faith  they  already  held, 
they  could  only  regard  as  a  dangerous  inter- 
loper that  which  denied  their  assertion  that 
all  matters  concerning  the  hereafter  must  be 
accepted  by  faith  and  not  demonstrated  as 
fact. 

A  gradual  change  has  taken  place  in  this 
direction  during  the  last  few  years,  and  it 
has  become  quite  common  for  clergymen  to 
admit  the  correctness  of  the  Spiritualists' 
position ;  so  far,  at  least,  as  evidence  for  the 
survival  of  bodily  death  is  concerned.  Sev- 
eral of  the  most  popular  authors  on  the  sub- 
ject are  ordained  ministers  in  the  Church  of 
England ;  and  quite  recently  the  Rev.  R.  J. 
Campbell  had  an  article  in  a  leading  Church 

11 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

journal,  in  wMch  he  declares  that  it  is  use- 
less to  deny  the  reality  of  the  experiences  on 
which  Spiritualists  base  their  claims.  Clair- 
voyance, clairaudience,  levitation  and  the 
materialisation  of  spirit  forms,  and  many 
other  kinds  of  psychic  phenomena  that 
might  be  named,  are  facts,  attested  by 
trained  expert  scientific  observers,  some  of 
whom  are  personally  known  to  him  as  men 
whose  testimony  on  this  or  any  other  subject 
is  not  to  be  lightly  discounted. 

The  scientific  nature  of  Spiritualism 
means  that  the  scientists  who  have  spoken 
in  favour  of  it  or  who  have  embraced  it, 
have  done  so,  not  because  they  wished  to 
believe,  or  because  they  have  been  taught 
from  infancy  to  believe,  but  because  common 
sense  and  experience  have  compelled  them 
to  do  so.  Nothing  can  testify  more  effect- 
ively to  the  power  of  a  movement  than  this. 
No  other  religious  body  would  venture  to 
establish  its  claims  upon  so  strict  a  founda- 
tion. Perhaps  that  is  why  no  other  can  hope 
to  stand  so  firmly,  nor  expect,  in  this  an- 
alytical age,  to  flourish  so  vigorously  as 

12 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRITUALISM 

Modern  Spiritualism  may  reasonably  hope 
to  do. 

In  almost  every  instance  where  leading 
personages — ^particularly  scientists — ^have 
undertaken  to  investigate  the  subject,  they 
have  done  so  in  a  sceptical  spirit.  In  nearly 
every  case  where  they  have  been  won  over, 
they  had  originally  combated  against  it. 
Their  first  conviction  has  almost  invariably 
been  that  Spiritualism  is  established  upon 
fraud,  and  that  once  the  keen  eye  and 
shrewd  mind  of  the  trained  observer  be 
brought  to  bear  upon  so-called  psychic  phe- 
nomena, the  tricks  would  be  exposed.  Nor 
have  these  investigators  hastily  arrived  at 
their  conclusions.  One  of  the  best  proofs 
of  the  genuineness  of  psychic  phenomena  is 
in  the  fact,  that  those  who  have  most  con- 
sistently and  closely  examined  them  are 
generally  those  who  have  accepted  them. 
Among  scientists  this  is  most  noticeable. 
During  the  great  controversy  upon  the  sub- 
ject which  took  place  in  the  last  quarter  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  it  was  those  scien- 
tists who  had  unsparingly  investigated,  that 
supported  Spiritualism.  On  the  other  hand, 

13 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

those  who  condemned  it  were  often  those 
who  confessed  they  considered  the  matter 
unworthy  of  their  serious  attention.  This  is 
well  shown  in  some  of  the  replies  received 
by  the  Dialectical  Society  when  appointing 
a  committee  to  inquire  into  the  subject.  A 
representative  body  was  sought  for,  and  in- 
vitations were  sent  to  several  leading  scien- 
tists to  join  the  committee.  The  replies  of 
some  of  them  reveal  to  what  an  extent  the 
matter  had  been  prejudged,  and  in  conse- 
quence how  many  were  totally  unprepared 
to  even  consider  it.  Professor  Huxley,  then 
at  the  height  of  his  fame,  and  the  leading 
agnostic  in  this  country,  said:  ** Supposing 
the  phenomena  to  be  genuine,  they  do  not 
interest  me."  Herbert  Spencer  declared: 
'*I  have  settled  the  question  in  my  own  mind 
on  a  priori  grounds."  It  is  dilBScult  to  un- 
derstand this  attitude  on  the  part  of  men 
professedly  lovers  of  truth,  and  who  on 
other  subjects  were  undoubtedly  broad- 
minded.  That  this  was  due,  however,  to  no 
mere  passing  mood,  but  a  deeply-rooted 
aversion,  is  demonstrated  by  the  repeated 
attacks  against  Spiritualism  by  this  type  of 

14 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRITUALISM 

person.  Even  authorities  unsympathetic  to- 
wards Spiritualism  have  had  to  acknowledge 
the  unfairness  of  such  critics  as  Professor 
Tyndall  and  Dr.  W.  B.  Carpenter.  Tyn- 
dall's  noteworthy  pronouncement  that, 
*'The  world  will  have  a  religion  of  some 
kind,  even  though  it  should  fly  to  the  intel- 
lectual whoredom  of  Spiritualism,''  sprang 
from  little  more  than  his  ignorance  of  the 
subject.  The  remarks  of  Prank  Podmore, 
an  unfavourable  critic  of  Spiritualism,  con- 
vey a  vivid  idea  of  the  unscientific  methods 
of  the  eminent  physicist,  as  well  as  the  bit- 
ter manner  in  which  he  blindly  regarded 
anj^hing  to  do  with  psychic  phenomena. 

'*In  his  *  Fragments  of  Science  for  Un- 
scientific People,'  "  writes  Podmore,  *' Tyn- 
dall furnishes  a  sample  of  his  mode  of  in- 
vestigation. The  date  of  the  solitary  seance 
which  he  describes  is  not  given,  but  from 
another  source  we  learn  that  it  took  place 
in  the  early  sixties,  at  the  house  of  Mr.  New- 
ton Crossland.  The  seance  was  a  failure; 
nothing  occurred  which  could  not  have  been 
effected   by   fraud   or   accident.     Tyndall 

15 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

claims,  however,  to  have  checked  one  or  two 
intended  movements  of  the  table ;  he  further 
asserts  that  the  medium,  after  boasting  that 
she  was  so  sensitive  as  to  be  rendered  seri- 
ously ill  by  the  mere  presence  of  a  magnet  in 
the  room,  failed  to  detect  a  magnet  in  Tyn- 
dall's  pocket,  within  a  few  inches  of  her 
person;  and  that  some  of  the  company  at- 
tributed to  spirit  influence  movements  and 
sounds  which  were  actually  caused  by  Tyn- 
daU  himself.  Tyndall's  account  of  the  sit- 
ting is  quite  possibly  correct,  but  we  have 
only  his  word  for  it,  and  the  fact  that  at  the 
time  he  kept  his  experiments  and  observa- 
tions to  himself,  so  as  to  shut  out  all  possi- 
bility of  corroDorative  evidence,  gives  an 
appearance  of  unfairness  to  his  article, 
which  is  much  to  be  regretted.  As  we  have 
already  seen,  even  a  distinguished  physicist 
is  liable,  like  ordinary  mortals,  to  make  seri- 
ous mistakes  in  his  report  of  a  seance,  and 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  Tyndall's  version  of  the 
evening's  performance  was  challenged,  on 
publication,  by  his  host. 

'*But  even  if  the  accuracy  of  the  narra- 
tive is  admitted,  the  propriety  of  publish- 

16 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRITUALISM 

ing  it  is  dubious.  The  seance  was  admittedly 
unsuccessful;  no  fraud  was  actually  de- 
tected; and  it  seems  hardlv  worth  while  to 
have  written  an  article  to  prove  that  some 
Spiritualists  were  credulous  and  some  me- 
diums imaginative.  But  when  dogs  are  to 
be  beaten  any  stick  will  serve."  * 

Although  Tyndall  and  Carpenter  belong 
to  the  previous  generation,  their  methods 
are  such  glaring  examples  of  the  unfair  crit- 
icism to  which  Spiritualism  has  always  been 
subjected  on  the  part  of  persons  of  whom 
any  such  thing  is  hardly  likely  to  be  sus- 
pected, that  they  serve  a  very  useful  pur- 
pose in  connection  with  this  aspect  of  the 
subject.  Unfortunately,  there  are  a  large 
body  of  people  who  take  their  lead  from  this 
kind  of  critic,  without  even  troubling  to  in- 
vestigate for  themselves. 

Even  thinkers  of  importance  who  have 
played  a  conspicuous  and  honourable  part 
in  progressive  thought,  and,  therefore,  to 
whom  the  world  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude,  are 
often  thus  perniciously  influenced. 

** 'Modem  Spiritualism:  A  History  and  a  Criticism."  By 
Frank  Podmore.    VoL  II.  p.  147. 

17 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

Mr.  Edward  Clodd*  is  one  of  the  most  re- 
cent examples;  for  no  one  acquainted  with 
the  love  of  truth  he  has  hitherto  shown, 
would  suppose  that  his  illogical  and  abusive 
attack  on  Spiritualism  and  some  of  its  scien- 
tific exponents  has  been  inspired  by  personal 
experience.  Only  those  ignorant  of  the  facts 
would  venture  to  dispute  levitations  and 
other  well  attested  psychic  manifestations, 
on  the  grounds  that  they  *^are  defiances  of 
the  uniformity  of  Nature";  or  stoop  so  low 
as  to  refer  to  the  testimonies  of  men  far 
more  eminent  and  qualified  than  themselves 
as  ** mischievous  drivel."  The  assumption 
contained  in  such  criticism  is  that  Mr.  Clodd 
has  exhausted  nature,  and  that  not  one  of 
her  laws  is  outside  his  knowledge.  The  truth 
is,  Mr.  Clodd  is  of  the  old  school,  and  long- 
continued  modes  of  thought  and  belief  have 
hardened  his  heart,  and  left  practically  no 
room  for  expansion  in  certain  directions. 
What  is  required  by  this  order  of  sceptic  is 
a  course  of  personal  investigation  of  psychic 

***The  Question:  *If  a  man  dies,  shall  he  live  again f*  " 
By  Edward  Clodd. 

18 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRITUALISM 

phenomena,  equal  to  the  importance  of  the 
issues  involved. 

Dr.  Carpenter's  attitude  reveals  in  what 
bad  odour  important  individuals  stood  fifty 
years  ago  when  they  ventured  to  speak  in 
favour  of  Spiritualism.  The  kind  of  stick 
used  against  them  was  not  less  disreputable 
than  that  used  against  Spiritualists  in  gen- 
eral. Carpenter  claimed  to  have  studied  the 
** higher  phenomena  of  Spiritualism"  for 
more  than  twelve  years.  His  investigations 
were  certainly  not  exhaustive,  whilst  certain 
classes  of  psychic  phenomena  he  avoided  al- 
together. He  expressly  states  he  refused  to 
attend  dark  seances,  or  to  have  anything  to 
do  with  phenomena  below  the  table.  Some 
of  the  more  remarkable  forms  of  phenom- 
ena, which  had  quite  convinced  other  scien- 
tists, he  uncompromisingly  attributed  to 
fraud.  In  attempting  to  demonstrate  this 
theory  he  failed  miserably.  We  are  indebt- 
ed to  him  for  the  phrase  **  unconscious  cere- 
bration," and  by  means  of  it  he  endeav- 
oured to  account  for  various  kinds  of  psy- 
chical manifestations.  The  way  he  applied 
this  undoubtedly  useful  discovery,  is  often 

19 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISMS 

quite  amusing,  involving  him  in  difficulties 
far  greater  than  the  one  he  was  endeavour- 
ing to  solve.  By  unconscious  cerebration, 
he  meant  that  there  were  often  unconscious 
actions  performed,  both  physically  and  men- 
tally, that  might  lead  the  investigator  to 
suppose  that  it  was  not  he  but  some  ex- 
traneous entity  performing  the  action  or 
expressing  the  thought.  In  applying  it  to 
table-tilting  and  planchette-writing.  Car- 
penter would  be  to  a  large  extent  correct. 
Spiritualists  are,  as  a  rule,  quite  prepared 
to  admit  that  under  certain  circumstances 
much  may  influence  the  phenomena  which 
comes  only  from  the  experimenter's  own 
subconsciousness.  But  how  it  can  explain 
the  movements  of  objects  at  a  distance  from 
the  medium  or  the  materialisation  of  a  spirit 
form,  it  is  impossible  to  conceive. 

Carpenter's  strong  aversion  to  Spirit- 
ualism led  him  to  adopt  Jesuitical  means  of 
bringing  about  its  overthrow.  He  regarded 
it  as  a  most  '^mischievous  epidemic  delu- 
sion," compared  it  to  the  witchcraft  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  and  considered  it 
ought,  therefore,  to  be  crushed.     The  ex- 

20 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRITUALISM 

traordinary  vigour  with  which  he  pursued 
this  end  redounds  to  his  lasting  discredit  as 
a  scientific  observer  and  critic;  being  ** im- 
paired," says  Podmore,  ''by  the  extraordi- 
nary egotism  and  malevolence  which  he  dis- 
played." * 

The  foregoing  facts  afford  an  idea  of  the 
difficulties  against  which  Modern  Spirit- 
ualism has  had  to  contend.  The  very  body 
of  opinion  which  Spiritualists  have  always 
most  honoured,  and  from  which  they  have 
always  realised  their  greatest  assistance 
must  come,  has  far  too  long  been  in  large 
part  antagonistic.  So  strong  is  the  belief 
of  the  average  Spiritualist,  that  he  has  ac- 
tually counted  on  the  enquiries  of  the  sci- 
entific expert  for  support ;  all  he  has  asked 
for  is  a  fair  trial,  knowing  that  should  much 
of  his  evidence  fail  to  convince,  a  certain 
amount  could  not  fail  to  do  so  if  honestly 
dealt  with.  Subsequent  events  have  justi- 
fied this  view;  for  although  there  are  still 
many  scientific  opponents  of  the  phenomena 
of  Spiritualism,  they  are  simply  uninformed 

♦''Modern  Spiritualism/'  Vol.  II.  p.  152.    By  Frank  Pod- 
more. 

21 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM-? 

upon  the  subject.  It  is  now  generally  ac- 
knowledged that  there  exist  certain  phe- 
nomena, not  explicable  by  known  physical 
and  psychological  laws.  This,  of  course, 
does  not  involve  the  Spiritualistic  explana- 
tion of  them;  but  although  various  expla- 
nations other  than  this  have  been  sought,  it 
has  been  unavailingly.  Various  theories 
cover  part  of  the  facts,  sometimes  a  con- 
siderable part.  The  explanations  offered 
by  Spiritualism  appear,  however,  to  cover 
them  all. 

A  comparison  between  the  methods  of  sci- 
entists who  have  attributed  psychic  phe- 
nomena to  delusion  and  fraud,  and  those 
who  have  acknowledged  them  as  demon- 
strated facts  is  little  short  of  startling. 
Even  if  the  charge  of  credulity  against  the 
latter  could  be  substantiated,  it  must  ever 
be  to  their  credit  that  they  investigated  sin- 
cerely and  in  accordance  with  scientific  prin- 
ciple ;  but  the  accusation  cannot  be  support- 
ed. So  careful  have  they  been  to  guard 
against  the  possibility  of  error,  that  one 
frequently  looks  in  vain  for  a  flaw.  Time 
has  been  to  most  of  them  no  object,  forty 

22 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRITUALISM 

years  and  even  more  have  sometimes  been 
occupied  in  this  research ;  and  several  have 
not  even  ventured  to  express  any  decided 
view  to  account  for  their  experiences  until 
after  a  quarter  of  a  century  of  investiga- 
tion, progress  being  made  slowly  from  point 
to  point  as  new  experiences  and  facts  have 
been  evolved.  Sir  William  Crookes  ad- 
vanced from  absolute  unbelief  to  the  admis- 
sion that  his  early  experiments  conclusively 
established  the  existence  of  a  new  force,  in 
some  manner  connected  with  the  human  or- 
ganisation, which  he  called  Psychic  Force. 
From  that  he  went  on  to  the  assurance  that 
he  had  frequently  witnessed  the  manifesta- 
tion of  another  being  who  could  not  be  ac- 
counted an  inhabitant  of  the  terrestrial 
world.  To-day  he  is  a  firm  believer  in  spirit 
communion. 

The  late  Professor  Cesare  Lombroso,  the 
famous  criminologist,  commenced  by  re- 
garding Spiritualism  as  a  species  of  insan- 
ity, and  finished  over  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury later  by  writing  one  of  the  most  valu- 
able treatises  in  favour  of  the  subject  which 
before  he  had  so  roundly  condemned.    For 

23 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

more  than  twenty-five  years  this  eminent 
personality  investigated  before  he  gave  to 
the  world  his  full  decision.  He  openly  con- 
fessed how  hard  it  had  been  for  him  to  ac- 
cept this  view.  ^*If  ever  there  was  an  in- 
dividual in  the  world,"  he  wrote,  ** opposed 
to  Spiritualism  by  virtue  of  scientific  edu- 
cation, and,  I  may  say,  instinct,  I  was  that 
person."*  He  had  made  it  the  indefatig- 
able pursuit  of  almost  a  lifetime  to  defend 
the  materialistic  theory  that  the  soul  is  an 
emanation  of  the  brain,  and  for  years  he 
laughed  at  the  idea  of  psychic  phenomena. 
He  published  his  book  **  After  Death — 
What?"  in  face  of  his  friends  rising  against 
him  on  every  side,  crying  out  that  by  doing 
so  he  would  ruin  an  honourable  reputation. 
He  did  not  hesitate  for  a  single  moment, 
feeling  it  was  his  predestined  end  and  way 
and  duty  to  crown  his  life's  work  '*in  the 
struggle  for  great  ideas  by  entering  the  lists 
for  this  desperate  cause,  the  most  hotly  con- 
tested and  perhaps  the  most  persistently 
mocked  idea  of  the  times."  t    So  convinced 

1.  By  Gesare  Lombroso. 
t  Vide  Preface,  p.  v. 

24 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRITUALISM 

was  he  of  the  truth  of  Spiritualism  that  he 
asserted  the  facts  relating  to  one  class  of 
phenomena  alone,  namely,  phantoms,  are  so 
numerous  and  so  well  proved  that  ^Hheir  bi- 
ology and  their  psychology"  can  now  be  con- 
structed. 

Sir  Oliver  Lodge  is  one  of  the  greatest 
living  scientific  exponents  of  Spiritualism. 
His  history  in  connection  with  psychical  re- 
search is  too  well-known  to  need  elabora- 
tion here.  It  is  the  same  story  of  slow  and 
careful  investigation,  and  a  gradual  win- 
ning over  from  scepticism  to  belief,  cul- 
minating in  the  production  of  his  recent 
work  *'Eaymond,  or  Life  and  Death."  No 
book  could  show  more  clearly  the  firmness 
of  his  belief.  To  deal  publicly  with  family 
matters  that  must  ever  be  sacred  to  the  heart 
of  a  father  who  has  lost  a  dearly-loved  child, 
is  in  itself  evidence  of  the  importance  in 
which  he  holds  the  matter.  The  very  thought 
that  communications,  which  from  their  na- 
ture can  never  be  appreciated  fully  except 
by  those  to  whom  they  were  given,  should 
meet  with  the  scoffs  of  unbelievers,  could 
be  overridden  only  by  the  urgency  and  ac- 

25 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

curacy  of  the  subject.  ^^Eaymond''  marks 
an  important  period  in  the  development  of 
psychic  research,  for  it  is  perhaps  the  first 
time  that  an  eminent  scientist  has  ventured 
to  publish  a  book  dealing  almost  specifically 
with  the  more  subtle  mental  forms  of  me- 
diumship  and  Spiritualism. 

In  illustrating  the  nature  of  the  experi- 
ences that  have  convinced  scientists  of  the 
truth  of  Spiritualism,  it  will  be  best  to  quote 
from  one  who  must  be  regarded  as  the  pio- 
neer of  scientific  Spiritualism,  and  then 
from  his  legitimate  successor  in  Great  Brit- 
ain. Sir  William  Crookes  has  retired  from 
active  scientific  work  in  connection  with  the 
subject,  whilst  Dr.  W.  J.  Crawford  is  still 
pursuing  his  remarkable  experiments  into 
the  nature  of  psychic  force.  Both,  it  will 
be  observed,  deal  specially  with  the  physical 
phenomena.  The  mental  phenomena  are 
not  less  valuable,  although  certainly  more 
elusive. 

A  word  may  be  said  first  regarding  the 
two  forms  of  psychic  phenomena  with  which 
the  popular  mind  still  largely  associates 
Spiritualism.    ** Table-tilting"  and  ^'spirit- 

26 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRITUALISM 

rappings"  have  in  the  past  played  a  con- 
spicuous part  in  the  growth  of  the  move- 
ment; but  for  many  years  they  have  given 
way  to  other  means  of  communicating  with 
the  spirit-world.  Although  a  large  amount 
of  ridicule  has  been  levelled  at  both  these 
forms  of  mediumship,  it  cannot  be  because 
they  are  not  efficient  methods  of  communi- 
cation. It  has  arisen  from  thoughtlessness 
or  misconception  on  the  part  of  critics,  who 
are  more  concerned  with  the  means  than  the 
end.  There  can  be  nothing  foolish  about 
any  way  of  communicating  that  is  suitable 
to  the  occasion.  Because  a  dumb  person 
uses  the  manual  alphabet  to  convey  his 
thoughts,  people  who  know  the  reason  for 
his  doing  so  are  not  disposed  to  laugh  at 
him.  Yet  merely  moving  the  fingers  is  in 
itself  foolish.  Indeed,  in  some  instances  it 
can  be  regarded  only  as  a  sign  of  mental 
weakness.  The  object  with  which  anything 
is  done  is  what  really  counts.  If  therefore 
the  tilting  of  a  table  or  rapping  sounds 
prove  that  an  intelligence  other  than  those 
known  to  be  present  is  at  work,  and  if  they 
throw  light  upon  the  nature  and  where- 

27 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

abouts  of  that  intelligence,  then  table-tilting 
and  spirit-rapping  become  valuable  prac- 
tices. The  mere  condemnation  of  rapping 
as  meaningless,  carried  to  its  logical  con- 
clusion, would  soon  deprive  mankind  of  at 
least  one  of  its  most  valued  possessions.  The 
telegraph  is  nothing  more  than  a  rapping 
machine.  To  the  uninitiated  the  faint  and 
apparently  erratic  taps  that  can  be  heard 
through  it  have  no  meaning.  But  those  who 
understand  its  functions  and  who  can  read 
the  code  those  raps  conform  to  know  that 
by  means  of  them  an  important  part  of  the 
world's  affairs  are  carried  on,  often  of  na- 
tional or  international  importance.  It  is 
not  the  raps  that  count ;  it  is  what  they  sig- 
nify. 

In  view  of  this  one  can  appreciate  why 
Mr.  William  Crookes,  as  he  then  was,  at- 
tached great  importance  to  a  thin  wooden 
lath  2314  inches  long,  by  1^  inches  wide, 
and  %  inch  thick,  floating  in  the  air  with- 
out any  visible  or  known  means  of  support 
except  the  mysterious  psychic  force  known 
to  emanate  from  the  medium  who  was  pres- 
ent on  the  occasion,  and  under  severe  test 

28 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRITUALISM 

conditions.  On  another  occasion  he  fitted 
up  an  apparatus  for  experimenting  on  the 
alteration  in  the  weight  of  a  body. 

**It  consisted  of  a  mahogany  board,  36 
inches  long  by  9^  inches  wide,  and  1  inch 
thick.  At  each  end  a  strip  of  mahogany 
1%  inches  wide  was  screwed  on,  forming 
feet.  One  end  of  the  board  rested  on  a 
firm  table,  whilst  the  other  end  was  sup- 
ported by  a  spring  balance  hanging  from  a 
substantial  tripod  stand.  The  balance  was 
fitted  with  a  self -registering  index,  in  such 
a  manner  that  it  would  record  the  maximum 
weight  indicated  by  the  pointer.  The  ap- 
paratus was  adjusted  so  that  the  mahogany 
board  was  horizontal,  its  foot  resting  flat 
on  the  support.  In  this  position  its  weight 
was  3  lbs.,  as  marked  by  the  pointer  of  the 
balance."* 

The  apparatus  was  arranged  in  position 
before  Mr.  Home  (the  medium)  entered 
the  room.  He  had  not  even  the  object  of 
some  of  the  parts  explained  to  him.  The 
purpose  of  this  apparatus  was  to  see 
whether  it  was  possible  to  produce  much  ef- 

•"Eesearehes  in  Spiritualism.'*    By  W.  Crookes,  rji.s. 

29 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

feet  upon  the  spring  balance  by  the  medium 
placing  his  fingers  upon  the  end  farthest 
from  the  balance.  Mr.  Home  placed  the  tips 
of  his  fingers  lightly  on  the  extreme  end 
of  the  mahogany  board  which  was  resting 
on  the  support,  whilst  Mr.  Crookes  and  a 
friend  sat  on  each  side  of  it,  watching  for 
any  effect  that  might  be  produced.  Almost 
at  once  the  pointer  of  the  balance  was  seen 
to  descend,  and  after  a  few  seconds  to  rise 
again.  This  movement  was  repeated  several 
times,  ^^as  if  by  successive  waves  of  the 
Psychic  Force."  The  medium,  of  his  own 
accord,  now  took  a  small  hand-bell  and  a 
little  card  match-box,  and  placed  one  under 
each  hand,  still  at  the  end  of  the  mahogany 
board,  in  such  a  position  as  still  to  render 
it  impossible  for  him  to  exert  any  appreci- 
able pressure  on  the  spring  balance.  Never- 
theless, it  registered  a  downward  pull  of 
from  3I/2  lbs.  to  6  lbs.  The  latter  being  the 
maximum.  Mr.  Crookes  now  stepped  upon 
the  table  and  stood  on  one  foot  at  the  end 
of  the  board  where  Mr.  Home's  fingers  had 
been,  and  by  exerting  the  whole  weight  of 
liis  body  (140  lbs.)  succeeded  in  depressing 

30 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRITUALISM 

the  index  only  V^  or  2  lbs.  when  he  jerked 
up  and  down.  In  this  way  Mr.  Crookes 
demonstrated  the  existence  of  the  mysteri- 
ous force  which  had  hitherto  been  unknown 
to  science. 

These  experiments  do  nothing  necessarily 
towards  proving  the  existence  of  disem- 
bodied intelligences.  In  his  series  of  re- 
searches, however,  Mr.  Crookes  had  distinct 
evidence  of  such  existing. 

Through  the  mediumship  of  Miss  Flor- 
ence Cook  he  obtained  some  remarkable  ex- 
amples of  materialisation,  ix,,  the  tempo- 
rary manifestation  of  a  spirit  entity  in  a 
form  corresponding  more  or  less  closely 
with  an  ordinary  human  body.  In  some  in- 
stances it  is  impossible  to  distinguish  one 
from  the  other.  The  form  that  most  fre- 
quently manifested  to  Mr.  Crookes  under 
test  conditions  called  itself  *^ Katie  King." 
She  appeared  to  be  a  tall,  graceful,  hand- 
some, well-proportioned  lady,  and  readily 
did  all  in  her  power  to  give  proof  of  her 
separate  identity  from  the  medium.  The 
eminent  scientist  once,  when  the  form  of 
^^ Katie"  was  standing  before  him  in  the 

31 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM*? 

room,  distinctly  heard  a  sobbing,  moaning 
sound  proceeding  from  the  medium,  behind 
the  curtains,  where  she  was  supposed  to  be 
sitting.  Under  the  heading  of  ^'Spirit- 
forms,"  Mr.  Crookes  refers  to  the  results 
of  a  series  of  private  seances  Miss  Cook  de- 
voted exclusively  to  him  and  one  or  two  of 
his  friends.  During  one  of  these  seances 
Mr.  Crookes  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
** Katie"  and  her  medium  together.  Miss 
Cook  was  crouching  on  the  ground  uncon- 
scious, whilst  Katie  stood  close  behind  her. 
Never  before  this  seance  had  Katie  ap- 
peared to  greater  perfection.  For  nearly 
two  hours  she  walked  about  the  room,  con- 
versing familiarly  with  those  present.  On 
several  occasions  she  took  Mr.  Crookes' 
arm  when  walking,  conveying  to  him  the 
impression  that  it  was  a  living  woman  by  his 
side  *' instead  of  a  visitor  from  the  other 
world."*  To  assure  himself  of  her  sub- 
stantial nature  he  asked  her  permission  to 
clasp  her  in  his  arms,  thus  to  verify  interest- 
ing observations  that  had  been  made  by  an- 

*'*Besearches  in  Spiritualism/'  p.  106.     By  W.  Crookes, 

32 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRITUALISM 

other  experimenter.  Permission  was  gra- 
ciously given,  and  he  accordingly  did  so. 
Subsequently  Mr.  Crookes  obtained  a  series 
of  photographs  of  Katie ;  each  evening  there 
were  three  or  four  exposures  of  plates  in 
five  cameras,  giving  at  least  fifteen  separate 
pictures  of  each  seance.  Altogether  he  ob- 
tained forty-four  negatives.  One  of  the 
most  interesting  of  the  pictures  is  one  in 
which  he  is  standing  by  the  side  of  Katie. 
The  difference  between  Katie  and  her  me- 
dium was  very  pronounced.  Katie  was  half 
a  head  taller  than  Miss  Cook,  and  a  bigger 
woman  in  comparison.  In  breadth  of  face 
she  differed  essentially  in  size  from  her  me- 
dium. Photography  was  inadequate  to  de- 
pict the  perfect  beauty  of  Katie's  face,  and 
words  powerless  to  describe  her  charm  of 
manner,  says  Mr.  Crookes. 

"Bound  her  she  made  an  atmosphiere  of  life; 
The  very  air  seemed  lighter  from  her  eyes, 
They  were  so  soft  and  beautiful,  and  rife 
With  all  we  can  imagine  from  the  skies; 
Her  overpowering  presence  made  you  feel 
It  would  not  be  idolatry  to  kneel. ' '  * 
**'Eesearches  in  Spiritualism.*'     By  W.  Crookes,  P.E.S. 


33 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

Thus  he  writes  of  her,  expressing  at  the 
same  time  his  absolute  certainty  that  Miss 
Cook  and  Katie  were  two  separate  individ- 
uals so  far  as  their  bodies  were  concerned. 

**The  Reality  of  Psychic  Phenomena," 
published  by  W.  J.  Crawford,  D.Sc,  in  1916, 
is  the  most  recent  work  upon  the  physical 
phenomena  of  Spiritualism  by  a  qualified 
scientist.  Dr.  Crawford  approached  the  sub- 
ject sceptically.  The  facts  proved  too  much 
for  his  scepticism,  and  he  is  to-day  a  con- 
firmed Spiritualist.  That  conclusion  may 
be  derived  from  the  preface  of  his  book,  in 
which  he  says : 

"I  do  not  discuss  in  this  book  the  ques- 
tion of  the  identity  of  the  invisible  opera- 
tors" (i.e.,  the  intelligences  producing  the 
phenomena).  **That  is  left  for  another  oc- 
casion. But  in  order  that  there  may  be  no 
misapprehension,  I  wish  to  state  explicitly 
that  I  am  personally  satisfied  that  they  are 
the  spirits  of  human  beings  who  have  passed 
into  the  Beyond." 

The  circle  with  which  Dr.  Crawford  car- 
ried out  his  experiments  consisted  of  seven 

34 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRITUALISM 

members,  all  of  one  family.  All  work  was 
voluntary.  One  member  of  the  family — 
Miss  Kathleen  Goligher — is  a  medimn  of 
outstanding  merit,  and  it  was  with  her  most 
of  the  personal  experiments  were  made. 
The  special  advantages  obtained  by  Dr. 
Crawford  with  this  circle,  are  the  splendid 
manner  in  which  the  phenomena  were  un- 
der control,  and  the  hearty  co-operation  of 
the  invisible  entities.  I  can  testify  from 
personal  experience  to  this,  as  on  more  than 
one  occasion  I  had  the  privilege  of  attend- 
ing some  of  Dr.  Crawford's  experiments. 
Although  the  manifestations  were  purely 
physical,  this  was  only  in  the  sense  that  they 
operated  on  physical  bodies ;  all  through  was 
demonstrated  the  existence  of  the  invisible 
operators,  who  were  evidently  highly  in- 
telligent. The  medium  was  quite  conscious 
during  all  the  experiments,  keenly  interest- 
ed in  the  whole  proceedings,  and  quite  en- 
joyed the  seances.  The  experiments  were 
conducted  in  a  light  strong  enough  to  enable 
all  present  to  see  the  objects  in  the  room; 
whilst  the  tables  used  for  levitations  were 
so  situated  as  to  make  it  quite  impossible 

35 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

for  any  of  the  mediums  to  lift  them,  even  if 
they  could  have  done  so  without  being  de- 
tected. The  greatest  freedom  was  afforded 
Dr.  Crawford,  who  spent  many  hours  within 
the  circle  and  in  all  places  around  it.  He 
continually  worked  under  the  levitated  table 
and  between  the  levitated  table  and  the  me- 
dium. Complicated  instruments  were  intro- 
duced, and  placed  below  the  table,  whilst 
Dr.  Crawford  often  placed  his  arm  and  hand 
in  the  space  between  the  medium  and  the 
table.  As  a  result  of  these  and  other  pre- 
cautions and  tests,  eliminating  all  possibility 
of  fraud.  Dr.  Crawford  was  enabled  to  con- 
firm the  reality  of  psychic  force  and  dis- 
cover two  of  the  ways  in  which  it  is  used 
by  spirit  communicators  when  producing 
physical  phenomena. 

The  table  would  be  levitated  and  remain 
suspended  in  view  of  all  present  without 
visible  support;  and  so  powerful  was  the 
force  lifting  it,  that  the  united  efforts  of 
strong  men  could  not  depress  it.  The  raps 
varied  in  intensity  from  faint  taps  to  blows 
resembling  those  made  with  a  sledge-ham- 
mer when  vigorously  wielded.    The  least  re- 

36 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRITUALISM 

quest  of  Dr.  Crawford's  seems  to  have  met 
with  an  immediate  response,  and  whenever 
possible  the  action  produced.  Everything 
within  reason  appears  to  have  been  effec- 
tively accomplished.  In  this  way  what  are 
known  as  the  ^'cantilever  theory"  for  levi- 
tating the  table,  and  the  ''rod  theory,"  by 
means  of  which  the  raps  were  produced, 
were  demonstrated.  The  book  is  a  reve- 
lation of  scientific  precision  and  a  clear 
evidence  of  the  existence  of  invisible  be- 
ings who  intelligently  co-operated  with  Dr. 
Crawford,  evidently  as  anxious  to  demon- 
strate the  reality  of  spiritual  communion 
as  any  mortal  could  possibly  be. 

These  spiritual  entities  had  other  means 
of  communicating  with  Dr.  Crawford;  for 
sometimes  when  he  desired  it  the  medium 
would  go  into  trance  to  allow  the  entities 
working  with  her  to  talk  to  him.  In  an- 
other part  of  this  book  I  give  an  excellent 
example  of  the  remarkably  evidential  na- 
ture of  the  rappings  with  this  medium,  es- 
tablishing spirit  identity.  Dr.  Crawford's 
book  deserves  the  closest  attention  of  all  en- 
quirers and  critics  of  Modern  Spiritualism. 

37 


CHAPTER  II 

WHAT  SPIKITTJALISM  TEACHES 

After  Death — ^what?;  physical  limitations;  the  average  man 
deserves  to  survive;  ignorance  of  ecclesiastics  regarding 
nature  of  next  life;  religious  teachings  contradictory; 
efforts  of  science  to  deal  with  question;  Dr.  Alfred  Eussel 
Wallace  on  Spiritualism;  it  claims  to  remove  doubt;  in- 
visible worlds  scientifically  probable;  extension  of  five 
senses;  St.  Paul;  psychic  gifts  penetrating  into  spirit- 
world;  Spiritualism  does  not  know  all  about  next  life; 
ethical  teachings  of  Spiritualism;  punishments  and  re- 
wards; low  and  high  spiritual  states;  spirit-world  not  un- 
like earth;  Spiritualists  ** naturalists " ;  Spiritualism  of- 
fers logical  explanation  of  next  life;  spirits  naturally 
desirous  of  communicating  with  us. 

No  subject  has  occupied  the  attention  of 
mankind  more  than  that  of  death.  Primi- 
tive and  civilised  man  have  alike  asked  the 
question  ^' After  death — ^whatT'  and  both 
have  endeavoured  to  answer  it  to  their  satis- 
faction. On  the  whole,  the  more  advanced 
the  race  the  less  satisfactory  to  them  has 
been  the  answer,  until  to-day  an  ever  in- 
creasing number  conclude  that  death  means 
annihilation.    The  vast  and  magnificent  re- 

38 


WHAT  SPIRITUALISM  TEACHES 

ligious  systems  that  have  from  time  imme- 
morial flourished  and  faded  away,  are  mere- 
ly epitomes  of  the  intense  importance  which 
mankind  has  attached  to  the  subject.  The 
many  contradictions  they  involve  are  proofs 
of  the  difficulties  which  it  presents.  It  is 
natural  that  intelligent  self-conscious  be- 
ings should  desire  always  to  live,  and  that 
they  should  regard  the  possibility  of  extinc- 
tion with  horror.  The  struggle  for  exist- 
ence among  mankind  arises  from  a  much 
deeper  law  than  the  wish  for  physical  life 
alone.  This  world  is  far  too  limited  for  the 
average  person.  Each  one  feels  himself 
pressing  against  the  margin  of  his  physical 
life.  There  is  within  something  too  big  for 
time  and  space.  A  thousand  facts  give  evi- 
dence of  this.  The  body  is  weak  frail  stuff, 
so  easily  broken  and  torn  to  rags;  but  the 
soul  is  often  resolute  and  untouched  by  these 
disabilities.  The  soldiers  at  the  front  dem- 
onstrate this  almost  without  ceasing.  It  is 
the  body  in  the  main  that  hinders  them. 
Marcus  Aurelius  was  right  when  he  spoke 
of  man  as  a  "little  soul  carrying  a  corpse ;" 
for  is  not  the  body  subject  to  purely  me- 

39 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISMS 

chanical  and  biological  laws,  whilst  the  con- 
sciousness strives  incessantly  to  live  above 
them!  The  body  must  be  washed,  clothed 
and  fed;  is  subject  to  the  laws  of  gravita- 
tion. We  must  carefully  watch  its  welfare 
and  put  it  to  bed  when  it  is  tired,  even 
though  we  may  desire  an  entirely  different 
course.  These  are  plain  facts  known  to  all 
rational  people,  and  they  are  inextricably 
involved  in  this  great  question  of  life  and 
death.  Rightly  or  wrongly,  they  lead  us 
consciously  or  otherwise  to  feel  this  life  is 
insufficient,  unsatisfying,  and  we  instinc- 
tively long  for  another  chance.  Even  the 
ordinary  person  deserves  another  chance. 
The  circumstances  of  life  are  such  that  the 
vast  majority  of  men  and  women  and  chil- 
dren get  practically  no  opportunity  of  de- 
veloping more  than  the  veriest  fraction  of 
their  faculties  and  powers.  With  the  more 
fortunate  it  is  much  the  same,  for  it  is  mere- 
ly a  matter  of  degree.  The  man  in  the 
street,  unknown  as  he  is  to  the  world  at 
large,  is  too  good  to  die  out  at  death.  He 
deserves  a  better  opportunity  for  self-ex- 
pression than  this  world  affords.    Does  not 

40 


WHAT  SPIRITUALISM  TEACHES 

this  apply  much  more  to  the  world's  great 
characters?  Why  should  not  Socrates, 
Plato,  Galileo,  Kepler  and  Shakespeare,  to 
mention  only  a  few,  be  permitted  in  some 
other  state  of  existence  to  continue  their  re- 
searches and  exercise  their  powers  still  to 
the  advantage  of  the  human  race  ? 

Then  there  are  the  great  demands  of 
friendship  and  love.  The  degree  to  which 
these  entwine  themselves  into  the  lives  of 
people  is  too  wonderful  to  be  expressed,  and 
too  well  known  to  require  it.  They  are  the 
two  virtues  which  make  life  worth  living; 
and  they  are  two  qualities  the  complete  loss 
of  which  would  be  intolerable,  and  would 
mark  nature  indelibly  as  uneconomical. 
One  of  the  principal  tasks  of  religion  is 
to  give  comfort  and  assurance  to  the  mourn- 
er that  death  does  not  end  all,  and  that  there 
is  the  possibility  of  meeting  those  who  have 
gone  through  its  gateway  elsewhere.  So 
essential  is  such  a  teaching,  that  its  absence 
would  destroy  any  religion,  no  matter  how 
powerful  it  may  have  been.  Whoever  has 
stood  by  the  graveside  of  a  loved  one  will 
realise  how  true  this  is. 

41 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

How  is  it,  then,  that  notwithstanding  the 
naturalness  and  strength  of  the  hope  of  sur- 
vival of  bodily  death,  so  many  have  lost,  or 
are  losing,  faith  in  it  ?  It  is  because  the  re- 
ligious authorities  know  nothing  definite 
about  it.  They  are  without  any  personal 
knowledge  on  the  subject;  they  rely  solely 
upon  tradition,  and  tradition  is  confused, 
indefinite,  and  contradictory.  Go  to  any 
minister  of  religion  and  he  can  do  no  more 
than  affirm  to  you  his  belief  in  survival.  He 
is  so  ignorant  of  the  nature  of  the  after- 
world  state  that  he  will  either  refrain  from 
attempting  to  describe  it,  or  if  he  does  at- 
tempt to  do  so,  he  is  sure  to  differ  from  his 
colleagues.  No  wonder,  then,  that  science 
has  undertaken  to  grapple  with  the  problem. 
Its  message  in  the  main,  has  been  gloomy 
and  uncompromising,  but  this  was  before 
the  scientific  examination  of  Spiritualistic 
phenomena;  an  investigation  of  which  led 
Dr.  Alfred  Russel  Wallace  to  declare  that 
Spiritualism  **  demonstrates  mind  without 
brain,  and  intelligence  disconnected  with  a 
material  body.  It  furnishes  that  proof  of 
a  future  life  for  which  so  many  crave,  and 

42 


WHAT  SPIRITUALISM  TEACHES 

for  want  of  which  so  many  live  and  die  in 
positive  disbelief."  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  study  proclaims  to  mankind  the  ex- 
istence of  another  and  intelligent  world. 
That  is  the  teaching  of  Modern  Spiritual- 
ism; and  it  is  not  a  mere  subjective  pref- 
erence, but  an  objective  fact.  Without  evi- 
dence all  the  faith  in  the  world  could  not 
prove  survival.  The  fact  that  we  have  deep 
yearnings,  hopes  and  ambitions  is  no  guar- 
antee that  they  will  be  fulfilled.  Just  as 
we  came  into  the  world  without  being  con- 
sulted, so  may  we  go  out  of  it  into  nothing- 
ness, no  matter  how  we  may  hate  and  fear 
the  thought.  Is  not  this  the  method  of  rea- 
soning to-day,  and  is  it  not  perfectly  justi- 
fiable ?  Well,  Spiritualism  claims  to  be  able 
to  remove  every  doubt ;  and  those  who  have 
tested  its  claims  appear  satisfied  with  them. 
To  the  Spiritualist  it  is  a  literal  truth  that 
spirits  walk  this  earth  unseen  and  unheard 
by  the  vast  majority  of  people.  No  one 
goes  through  life  uninfluenced  by  these  in- 
visible hosts,  who  are  quite  aware  of  earthly 
presences.  Who  are  these  unseen  beings? 
They  are  the  spirits  of  the  so-called  **dead." 

43 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

Through  that  great  change  they  have  passed 
to  the  ^ ^higher  life."  Therefore,  Spiritual- 
ism teaches  there  is  no  death.  Nor  is  the 
world  of  spirits  a  world  of  shades;  it  is 
indeed  a  more  real  world  than  our  own. 
Viewed  casually,  this  seems  improbable  sim- 
ply because  we  are  in  the  habit  of  regarding 
things  from  the  point  of  view  of  personal 
experience.  What  we  cannot  see,  or  hear 
or  otherwise  cognise  through  our  physical 
senses,  we  have  difficulty  in  believing  exists 
at  all.  The  principles  of  science,  however, 
make  it  not  improbable  that  there  may  be 
even  now  passing  through  us  and  the  earth, 
invisible  planets  with  cities  and  inhabitants, 
mountains  and  oceans,  fields,  rivers,  and 
various  forms  of  life,  though  we  are  quite 
ignorant  of  the  fact.  The  beyond  is  only 
beyond  our  senses.  With  other  organs  of 
sense,  or  even  with  an  extension  of  those  we 
already  have,  there  might  be  brought  within 
the  scope  of  our  experience  hitherto  un- 
dreamed-of realms.  The  Spiritualist  has 
found  this  to  be  a  demonstrable  fact. 
Higher  senses  do  exist  among  us,  and  it  is 
largely  due  to  them  that  Spiritualism  exists. 

44 


WHAT  SPIRITUALISM  TEACHES 

It  is  common  knowledge  that  the  human  eye 
registers  only  a  certain  number  of  ether  vi- 
brations. Beyond  what  has  been  aptly  called 
our  *' conscious  spectrmn,"  are  ether  waves 
of  which  our  eye  takes  no  cognisance.  Al- 
ready science  has  knowledge  of  faculties 
that  can  extend  beyond  the  commonly 
known  range  of  our  five  special  senses,  al- 
though to  what  extent  they  are  capable  of 
advancing  can  at  present  be  but  indistinctly 
guessed.  There  is,  furthermore,  reason  to 
believe  that  each  person  has  a  larger  degree 
of  consciousness  than  he  suspects;  that  in 
reality  only  a  portion,  or  rather,  two  por- 
tions, of  his  real  self  manifest  normally; 
namely,  the  waking  and  the  dream  con- 
sciousness. With  some,  the  hidden  phases 
of  consciousness  sometimes  pass  up  into  the 
brain,  and  thus  manifesting,  exhibit  hitherto 
unsuspected  powers."  Visions  are  then  seen, 
sounds  heard,  sensations  felt,  and  intellec- 
tual and  emotional  qualities  demonstrated 
that  are  often  far  superior  to  anything  ex- 
perienced during  the  normal  state.  These 
things  occur  apart  altogether  from  Modern 
Spiritualism.     They  are  facts  of  psychol- 

45 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

ogy,  so  bafifling,  that  psychology,  because  of 
them,  cannot  at  present  stand  upon  solid 
ground.  Before  it  can  be  said  to  be  a  ''nat- 
ural science,"  the  data  must  be  considered 
more  widely. 

That  it  is  not  impossible  for  a  spiritual 
world  to  exist  around,  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  the  earth  moves  through  the  ether  of 
space.  We  are,  in  other  words,  actually 
moving  among  the  phenomena  of  etheric 
life  without  apparently  displacing  them. 
Indeed,  they  to  some  extent  conjoin  with 
and  aid  us ;  for  it  is  by  occasional  manifesta- 
tions of  the  etheric  world  that  we  are  en- 
abled to  exist  at  all.  Light  is  an  example 
of  this.  Electricity  and  magnetism  are  fur- 
ther expressions  which  enable  us  to  live 
more  freely  than  we  otherwise  could.  Ra- 
dio-active elements  constitute  a  group  of  in- 
sights into  nature  which  a  few  years  ago 
were  unknown.  Therefore,  apart  alto- 
gether from  the  discoveries  of  Modern 
Spiritualism,  there  are  ample  reasons  for 
suspecting  the  existence  of  a  spiritual  world. 
The  Spiritualist  declares  that  the  existence 
of  this  world  can  be  demonstrated  in  a  va- 

46 


WHAT  SPIRITUALISM  TEACHES 

riety  of  ways  here  and  now.  In  one  sense, 
we  live  in  both  worlds  at  the  same  time,  for 
just  as  St.  Paul  taught  there  are  bodies 
terrestrial  and  bodies  celestial,  so  does 
Spiritualism;  and  just  as  the  great  apostle 
of  Christianity  declared  there  are  spiritual 
as  well  as  physical  gifts  or  faculties,  so  does 
Modem  Spiritualism.  As  the  physical  fac- 
ulties spring  from,  and  are  related  to,  the 
physical  body,  the  spiritual  faculties  spring 
from  and  are  related  to  the  spiritual  body. 
It  is  not  intended  here  to  do  more  than 
briefly  refer  to  the  main  teachings  of  Mod- 
ern Spiritualism  in  relation  to  the  survival 
of  death.  To  attempt  a  larger  task  would 
require  an  extensive  and  intricate  treatise 
which  would  necessarily  be  indefinite,  since 
Spiritualism  is,  in  regard  to  its  philosophi- 
cal and  religious  aspects,  in  its  infancy.  To 
a  considerable  extent,  this  is  also  true  of  the 
scientific  side.  Not  that  much  of  importance 
has  not  been  discovered  regarding  all  these 
phases,  but  that  vast  unexplored  fields  lie 
before  it.  To  know  of  the  existence  of  any- 
thing is  very  different  from  knowing  all 
about  it.    People  see  without  the  least  idea 

47 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISMS 

of  how  they  do  so.  An  intimate  knowledge 
of  the  law  of  optics,  or  of  the  anatomy  and 
physiology  of  the  eye,  is  not  essential  to  so 
natural  a  sense.  Spiritualism  in  one  respect 
may  justly  claim  an  analogy  with  this.  No 
rational  person  can  deny  the  existence  of 
spiritual  intelligences  behind  the  marvellous 
happenings  of  the  seance  room ;  and  no  fair- 
minded  person  can  deny  that  the  evidence 
proves  that  those  intelligences  are  what  they 
claim  to  be — disembodied  human  beings.  Al- 
though Spiritualists  have  a  fairly  clear  idea 
of  the  nature  of  the  spirit  world,  they  do 
not  venture  to  say  they  know  all  there  is  to 
be  known  about  it.  Two  such  widely  dif- 
ferent states  of  matter  as  that  world  and 
this,  must  involve  other  great  differences, 
very  difficult  for  us  to  understand.  Among 
the  outstanding  things  Spiritualism  claims 
to  know  about  the  spiritual  world  are  all 
important  ethical  facts.  For  example, 
Spiritualists  declare  that  life  in  this  sense 
is  taken  up  in  the  new  world  at  the  point  it 
was  broken  off  here.  That  is  to  say,  a  per- 
son is  no  better  nor  worse  immediately  after 
dying  than  he  was  immediately  before.    The 

48 


WHAT  SPIRITUALISM  TEACHES 

same  laws  of  mental  and  spiritual  growth 
await  him  there  as  here.  If  he  would  be 
good,  he  must  do  good ;  if  he  desires  to  in- 
crease his  knowledge,  he  must  continue  to 
strive  after  it ;  if  he  would  progress  to  more 
spiritual  states,  he  must  live  more  spiritual- 
ly. The  question  of  punishment  and  re- 
ward according  to  Spiritualism  does  not 
necessarily  involve  eternity.  People  who 
have  been  very  wicked  here,  suffer  in  the 
next  world  in  a  remedial  and  not  in  a  vin- 
dictive sense.  Perhaps  one  of  the  most  dif- 
ficult things  the  average  person  experiences 
in  connection  with  this  view  of  the  subject 
is  this  idea  of  punishment.  We  have  been 
so  habituated  to  the  notion  of  eternal  pun- 
ishment of  a  uniform  type,  that  unjust  as 
this  must  be,  it  makes  it  hard  to  appreciate 
a  more  just  view.  Spiritualism  maintains 
that  the  main  factor  is  an  interior  one.  The 
defaulting  spirit  sooner  or  later  awakens  to 
a  realisation  of  his  misdeeds,  and  as  this 
consciousness  grows,  so  deepens  the  sense 
of  remorse.  Only  those  who  have  experi- 
enced the  tremendous  pain  of  a  racking  con- 
science will  understand  the  force  and  poign- 

49 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

ancy  of  this  mode  of  punishment.  In  ad- 
dition, however,  there  are  states  or  planes 
to  which  wrongdoers  pass  coinciding  with 
their  demerits,  and  comparable  to  the  con- 
ception of  Purgatory.  In  them  the  process 
is  one  of  purifying,  and  until  that  has  been 
fully  accomplished,  they  cannot  hope  to  pass 
to  higher  and  happier  conditions. 

The  average  individual  is  not  bad  enough 
to  go  to  these  unhappy  states,  nor  good 
enough  to  go  to  very  high  ones.  He  passes 
into  a  world  not  unlike  this  one  in  its  gen- 
eral arrangement.  There  he  lives  a  perfect- 
ly rational  life  among  scenes  and  people  he 
can  appreciate  and  love.  Even  if  this  were 
not  true,  it  certainly  seems  quite  natural 
that  it  should  be  true.  What  could  be  more 
reactionary  and  uneconomical  than  for  men 
and  women  and  children  to  pass  from  one 
state  of  existence  to  another  totally  unlike 
it?  Especially  one  in  which  the  whole  of 
the  principles  of  conduct  and  growth  were 
changed.  It  would  mean  that  all  they  had 
learned  in  their  previous  life  would  be  ut- 
terly wasted  and  without  meaning;  all  the 
trials,  disappointments,  and  successes  that 

§0 


WHAT  SPIRITUALISM  TEACHES 

distinguisli  every  life  on  earth  would  be 
without  purpose,  meaningless,  sheer  waste. 
It  is  impossible  to  conceive  nature  breaking 
down  in  so  unaccountable  a  way.  If  these 
facts  are  borne  in  mind,  it  will  be  seen  that 
instead  of  the  Spiritualist  being  a  "credu- 
lous supernaturalist,"  ready  to  believe  any 
foolish  thing  purporting  to  come  from  the 
"spirits,"  that  he  is  really  a  "naturalist," 
and  an  extremely  sensible  one  at  that.  Com- 
pare these  beliefs  with  those  currently 
taught  on  religion,  or  with  the  total  disbelief 
of  the  materialist,  or  with  the  blank  igno- 
rance of  the  agnostic,  and  they  will  be  ob- 
served to  be  the  only  rational  explanation 
offered  on  this  important  but  perplexing 
subject. 

One  of  the  advantages  the  inhabitants  of 
the  spirit  world  have  over  ourselves  is  their 
knowledge  of  the  existence  of  the  earth.  In 
this  respect  they  are  much  better  situated 
in  regard  to  us  than  are  we  in  regard  to 
them.  They  know  of  our  existence;  we,  in 
the  main,  only  suspect  theirs.  It  is  natural 
they  should  feel  a  keen  interest  in  a  place 
where  they  have  so  many  interests,  and 

51 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

which  for  a  time  was  their  sole  abode.  Noth- 
ing would  be  more  unlikely  than  that  a  de- 
parted mother  should  forget  her  children 
and  no  longer  desire  to  see  them,  or  to  be 
with  them ;  a  husband  his  wife ;  or  a  child  its 
parents.  They  would,  we  might  well  sup- 
pose, endeavour  to  communicate  in  some 
way  with  the  objects  of  their  affections,  even 
if  it  were  beyond  their  power  to  do  so  suc- 
cessfully. An  idea  of  their  feelings  may 
be  gathered  from  our  own.  What  greater 
solace  could  a  bereaved  person  have  than  to 
know  that  the  one  he  mourns  still  lives,  is 
happy,  that  one  day  they  will  be  reunited, 
and  that  even  now  from  time  to  time  the 
departed  one  can  communicate  these  and 
other  facts?  And  what  greater  pleasure 
could  the  departed  experience  than  to  be 
able  to  gratify  this  legitimate  desire  for 
knowledge  ?  Death  would  then  appear  to  be 
merely  a  journey  to  a  not  very  distant  land. 
That  is  just  what  Spiritualism  claims  as 
its  most  special  discovery.  For,  although 
desperately  wicked  people  suffer,  and  are 
even  denied  the  opportunity  of  holding  in- 
tercourse with  the  world,  the  average  spirit 

52 


WHAT  SPIRITUALISM  TEACHES 

is  so  happy  that,  notwithstanding  the  ties 
he  has  on  earth,  he  would  not  return  to  it 
permanently  if  he  could.  We  can  now  see 
why  it  is  that  in  perhaps  every  form  of  com- 
munion with  the  earth,  the  spirit  world 
plays  the  leading  part.  It  is  the  spirit  peo- 
ple who  manifest  to  the  clairvoyant,  speak 
to  the  clairaudient,  control  the  automatist's 
hand,  and  materialise.  No  greater  error 
prevails  than  that  Spiritualists  call  the 
spirits  up.  Whoever  undertakes  to  inves- 
tigate will  soon  see  the  folly  of  this  notion. 
The  departed  are  far  more  anxious  to  com- 
municate with  us  than  we  with  them.  They 
soon  realise  they  are  ^^more  alive  than 
ever,"  and  yet  see  their  friends  mourning 
them  as  dead ;  probably  as  lying  in  the  grave 
or  residing  in  some  equally  uncomfortable 
place;  or  else  totally  ignorant  of  what  has 
become  of  them,  whilst  all  the  time  they  are 
alive  and  happy  except  for  the  knowledge 
of  their  friends'  mistaken  view. 

'*Yea!  while  I  found  all  wisdom  (being  dead) 
They  grieved  for  me.    I  should  have  grieved  for  them  I " 

The  origin  of  Modern  Spiritualism  well 
illustrates  this  fact. 

53 


CHAPTER  III 

WHAT  SPIRITUALISM  TEACHES — Continued. 

Origin  of  Modem  Spiritualism;  Fox  family;  development  of 
many  different  means  of  psychic  communion;  what  a  me- 
dium is;  psychic  force  in  physical  and  mental  phenomena; 
substance  of  physical  body  also  used;  Miss  Goligher, 
Eusapia  Paladino  and  Mme.  d'Esperance;  mediums  can- 
not control  the  phenomena;  spirit  communion  diflScult; 
establishing  identity;  to  what  extent  mediums  may  be 
developed;  gift  of  mediumship  varies  greatly;  medium- 
ship  not  a  morbid  state;  mediumship  a  form  of  genius; 
Spiritualism  without  class  distinction;  no  priests;  me- 
diumship a  natural  gift;  how  to  investigate;  the  **home 
circle'';  '* negatives"  and  '* positives";  mediumship  sub- 
ject to  natural  laws;  how  sceptics  may  **sit";  dangers; 
no  devils  nor  angels. 

The  opening  scene  of  Modern  Spiritual- 
ism's eventful  history  is  dramatic  in  its  sim- 
plicity. In  Arcadia,  a  township  in  Wayne 
County,  New  York,  there  lived  John  D.  Pox, 
a  farmer,  with  his  family.  They  were 
Methodists  by  conviction.  In  addition  to 
himself  and  his  wife,  Mr.  Fox's  household 
consisted  of  two  daughters,  aged  twelve  and 

54 


WHAT  SPIRITUALISM  TEACHES 

fifteen  respectively.  There  was  also  a  mar- 
ried son  and  a  married  daughter  living  else- 
where. On  the  evening  of  March  the  31st, 
1848,  when  the  two  girls,  who  occupied  the 
same  bed,  were  about  to  retire,  the  house- 
hold was  disturbed  by  some  mysterious  rap- 
pings.  This  had  happened  before.  On  this 
occasion,  however,  one  of  the  girls  chal- 
lenged them,  and  to  their  astonishment,  the 
raps  replied!  They  repeated  sound  for 
sound  the  noises  made  by  one  of  the  girls 
snapping  her  fingers,  and  again  and  again 
gave  the  exact  number  of  raps  asked  for. 
The  listeners — including  the  parents — soon 
realised  this  was  an  event  of  no  ordinary 
moment.  They  called  in  friends  and  neigh- 
bours that  they  too  might  bear  witness. 
Needless  to  say,  the  neighbours  were  dis- 
posed to  ridicule  the  idea  that  there  was 
anything  unusual  about  these  raps.  One 
gentleman,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  a 
carefully-written  account  of  what  occurred 
in  his  presence  that  night,  laughed  at  Mrs. 
Fox,  told  her  it  was  all  nonsense  and  could 
be  easily  accounted  for.  Later,  hearing 
them,  he  altered  his  opinion.    In  the  pres- 

55 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

ence  of  the  neighbours,  questions  were  asked 
by  him,  and  the  rappings  were  heard  re- 
sponding with  sufficient  force  to  cause  the 
bedstead  to  jar  as  the  sound  was  produced. 
A  code  was  arranged,  and  soon  a  niunber  of 
questions  were  correctly  answered.  Among 
other  things,  the  correct  ages  of  those  pres- 
ent were  given,  although  in  most  instances 
they  were  known  only  to  the  individual  con- 
cerned. The  number  of  children  in  the  dif- 
ferent families  in  the  neighbourhood  were 
also  correctly  stated,  even  the  number  of 
boys  and  girls  in  each  case.  The  invisible 
rapper  declared  he  was  the  spirit  of  a  cob- 
bler who  had  been  murdered  some  years  be- 
fore in  the  house  and  buried  under  the  floor. 
Subsequent  enquiry  tended  to  confirm  this 
statement. 

There  was  no  doubt  the  rappings  were 
caused  by  no  hmnan  means.  Within  the 
next  few  days,  hundreds  of  people  were  at- 
tracted to  the  spot,  and  what  they  witnessed 
or  heard,  gave  rise  to  serious  considerations. 
A  curious  thing  now  happened.  Wherever 
the  two  yoimg  girls — Catherine  and  Mar- 
garetta  Fox — ^went,  the  rappings  followed 

56 


WHAT  SPIRITUALISM  TEACHES 

them,  increased  in  volume,  and  spread  to 
others.  Mrs.  Fish,  the  married  daughter 
of  Mr.  Fox,  and  several  inmates  of  a  board- 
ing-house in  Auban,  where  the  younger 
sister  stayed,  also  became  mediums.  The 
rappings  spread  rapidly  throughout  the 
eastern  states.  In  one  place  alone — Syra- 
cuse— some  two  hundred  rapping  mediums 
developed  in  a  very  short  time. 

The  faculty  for  rapping  mediinnship 
seems  to  have  been  possessed  by  nearly  all 
the  Fox  family.  Leah  and  Kate  appear  to 
have  had  the  gift  in  the  greatest  degree.  The 
records  published  by  capable  witnesses  show 
the  remarkable  vigour  of  the  gift  among 
them.  No  situation  appears  to  have  been 
too  difficult  in  which  to  exercise  it.  Direct 
evidence  was  in  this  way  received  on  numer- 
ous occasions,  establishing  the  identity  of 
deceased  people  who  could  not  possibly  have 
been  known  to  the  mediums. 

The  anxiety  shown  here  of  the  spirit  world 
to  communicate  with  this  is  typical  of  what 
has  occurred  ever  since.  One  of  the  princi- 
pal rules  of  the  seance  room  is,  ^*Keep  your 
mind  open,  ready  to  receive  whatever  comes 

57 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

at  its  proper  value,  but  don't  dictate  what 
shall  happen,  although  within  reason  you 
may  dictate  how  it  shall  happen."  One  of 
the  commonest  experiences  of  inquirers  is 
that  they  do  not  always  receive  communi- 
cations from  those  they  specially  wish  to; 
and  very  often  the  least  expected  spirit  may 
turn  up. 

Since  the  advent  of  Modern  Spiritualism, 
the  means  by  which  spirit  intercourse  is  at- 
tained has  grown  in  a  remarkable  way. 
Many  new  methods  superior  to  the  original 
rappings  have  come  into  vogue,  some  of 
them  being  related  directly  to  the  mind  of 
the  medium.  In  every  instance,  as  far  as 
can  at  present  be  judged,  a  human  organism 
is  essential  to  the  exercise  of  all  these  meth- 
ods; even  when  the  phenomena  are  objec- 
tive to  the  medium.  Eecent  experiments, 
however,  appear  to  point  to  the  possibility 
of  being  able  to  dispense  with  the  human 
element  in  favour  of  a  purely  mechanical 
device ;  but  up  till  now  nothing  definite  has 
been  arrived  at. 

A  medium  may  be  described  as  a  **go  be- 
tween" the  two  worlds,  a  sort  of  psychic 

58 


WHAT  SPIRITUALISM  TEACHES 


bridge ;  and  just  as  certain  kinds  of  material 
are  required  for  ordinary  bridges,  so  are 
they  necessary  for  this  kind.  This  material 
is  the  mysterious  Psychic  Force.  It  is 
needed  for  all  forms  of  mediumship,  al- 
though varying  in  nature  and  degree  ac- 
cording to  the  character  of  the  psychic's 
gifts.  In  physical  phenomena  it  is  much 
more  in  evidence  than  in  mental  phenomena. 
All  kinds  of  explanations  have  been  offered ; 
but  none  seems  to  cover  all  the  facts  relat- 
ing to  it.  All  are  more  or  less  agreed  that 
in  cases  of  physical  phenomena — such  as 
levitation  and  materialisations— some  fluid 
emanates  from  the  body  of  the  medium  to 
produce  them;  but  whether  it  is  a  nervous 
fluid  or  one  of  a  more  material  nature, 
seems  never  to  have  been  agreed  upon.  The 
recent  experiments  of  Dr.  W.  J.  Crawford, 
however,  seem  deflnitely  to  prove  that  it  is 
partly  of  a  physical  nature — the  substance 
of  the  medium's  body.  Scientists  have  fre- 
quently photographed  it  proceeding  from 
psychics,  and  there  appear  to  be  certain 
parts  of  the  human  organism  from  or 
through  which  it  is  more  easily  extracted. 

59 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

Nevertheless,  it  appears  to  be  based  upon 
a  substratum  of  matter  far  more  refined 
than  the  physical  body,  and  which  appar- 
ently belongs  to  the  psychic  body  of  the  me- 
dium. No  doubt  it  involves  several  degrees 
of  matter,  of  the  nature  of  some  of  which 
we  are  at  present  ignorant,  and  which 
may,  because  of  their  transcendental  na- 
ture, be  never  fully  understood  in  this  world. 
The  extent  to  which  certain  psychic  phe- 
nomena draw  upon  the  substance  of  the  me- 
dium's body  is  amazing,  and  if  we  were  not 
able  to  rely  upon  the  testimonies  of  eminent 
scientists,  it  would  be  quite  impossible  to 
believe  what  really  happens.  In  the  case  of 
Miss  Goligher  we  have  distinct  reductions  in 
her  weight  during  the  manifestations.  The 
same  applies  to  the  Italian  medium,  Eusapia 
Paladino;  whilst  in  other  instances,  espe- 
cially that  of  Mme.  d'Bsperance,  the  entire 
physical  body  of  the  medium  has  been 
known  to  disappear  during  materialisations. 
In  Mental  forms  of  mediumship,  such  as 
clairvoyance,  less  psychic  force  is  used, 
probably  because  the  medium  is  able  to  ex- 
ercise a  faculty  or  sense  comparable  with 

60 


WHAT  SPIRITUALISM  TEACHES 

the  ordinary  power  of  vision.  With  few 
exceptions — and  even  these  are  doubtful — 
psychics  are  quite  unable  to  make  and  con- 
trol the  phenomena.  All  they  can  do  is  to 
place  themselves  in  the  state  which  renders 
them  possible.  Sometimes  the  manifesta- 
tions occur  unexpectedly,  but  seldom  with 
the  psychic  who  has  cultivated  his  gifts  care- 
fully. A  special  purpose  and  effort  are  then 
nearly  always  required.  Even  clairvoyants 
are  subject  to  this,  and  unable  to  see  spirit 
forms  unless  they  try  to  by  putting  them- 
selves in  the  necessary  condition,  and  unless 
the  spirit  people  undertake  to  manifest. 
Then  they  cannot  help  seeing  spiritually  any 
more  than  one  can  avoid  doing  so  physically 
when  one's  eyes  are  opened  in  the  light.  The 
emplojonent  of  psychic  powers  is  therefore 
mainly  dependent  upon  the  unseen  entities. 
It  follows  that  mediums  do  not  see  into  the 
spirit  world,  or  otherwise  communicate  di- 
rectly with  it  with  the  same  freedom  and 
consistency  that  they  do  with  their  own 
world.  A  great  deal  depends  upon  the  re- 
alisation of  this.  Spiritualists  have  long 
been  misrepresented  as  teaching  that  com- 

61 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISMS 

munion  with  the  spirit  world  is  an  easy  mat- 
ter ;  and  mediums  as  making  the  claim  that 
they  can  compel  the  spirits  to  come  to  them, 
or  even  go  and  fetch  them  because  they  have 
free  access  to  the  superior  state.  Spirit- 
ualism really  contends  that  the  more  cor- 
rect way  is  to  say  that  the  spirit  people  com- 
municate with  us ;  and  that  once  they  have 
a  fitting  instrument  for  this  purpose,  they 
adapt  it  carefully  to  the  end  in  view.  In 
almost  every  instance,  it  requires  consider- 
able knowledge  and  skill  on  their  part  to 
do  this.  They  *' build  down,"  as  it  were, 
towards  this  earth.  In  materialisations 
they  actually  '* build  on  to  the  earth."  Sel- 
dom are  they  seen  in  their  natural  spiritual 
state.  When  manifesting  to  or  through  me- 
diums, their  main  object  is  to  give  evidence 
of  their  identity,  and  to  do  so  they  are  com- 
pelled to  adopt  a  form  that  is  likely  to  be 
recognised  by  those  whom  they  specially 
wish  to  be  aware  of  their  presence.  Herein 
is  the  explanation  why  the  average  clair- 
voyant description  depicts  the  dead  as  ap- 
pearing in  earthly-looking  garments,  and  to 
all  intents  and  purpose  with  the  infirmities 

/    J      ^^ 


I'fuA 


(L&^di       /  \  (^i!ti  '^^ 


WHAT  SPIRITUALISM  TEACHES 

and  personal  faults  and  foibles  that  distin- 
guished them  when  in  earth  life.  Short- 
sighted people  who  have  failed  to  see  this 
reason  have  pooh-poohed  the  idea  on  the 
grounds  that  tall  hats  and  Paisley  shawls 
cannot  have  souls,  and,  therefore,  as  the 
manifestation  of  these  things  is  ridiculous, 
so  must  the  whole  affair  be.  Let  it  be  put 
in  this  way:  Suppose  your  grandmother, 
who  died  at  an  advanced  age,  was  described 
by  a  clairvoyant  as  a  young  and  beautiful 
creature  with  none  of  the  marks  of  old  age 
and  infirmities  that  afflicted  her  before  she 
died.  Suppose  that  instead  of  the  old  mob 
cap  and  the  shawl  she  habitually  wore,  she 
was  said  to  be  dressed  in  flowing  garments 
of  the  purest  white ;  what  meaning  would  it 
have  for  you  ?  None  whatever.  You  might 
be  glad  to  think  such  a  wonderful  and  de- 
lightful change  could  take  place  in  the  old 
lady;  but  its  test  value  to  you  as  evidence 
of  her  continued  existence  would  be  nil. 
Even  if  from  her  were  elicited  certain  facts 
of  which  you  were  aware  she  alone  knew, 
their  value  would  be  destroyed  as  evidence 
of  her  identity,  because  of  the  dissimilarity 

63 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

between  the  description  given  of  her  and 
that  of  your  grandmother.  Now,  suppose 
your  grandmother  could  communicate  with 
you  from  the  other  world,  and  that  she, 
knowing  this,  endeavoured  to  do  so.  What 
more  reasonable  method  could  she  adopt 
than  to  appear  as  you  would  best  remember 
her?  This  would  necessitate  her  conjuring 
up  images  corresponding  to  the  various  ob- 
jects by  which  she  knew  you  would  recognise 
her.  That  is  exactly  what  Spiritualism 
teaches  she  does. 

Although  there  are  comparatively  few 
qualified  mediums,  no  one  knows  to  what 
extent  the  power  may  be  developed.  Mod- 
ern Spiritualism  is  quite  a  modern  move- 
ment, and  has  attracted  in  a  practical  way 
but  slight  attention.  In  aU  probability,  the 
majority  of  mankind  possess  one  or  other 
of  these  gifts  in  a  latent  condition.  The 
question  is  whether  it  is  in  every  case  suf- 
ficiently good  to  repay  the  effort  necessary 
to  its  unf  oldment.  As  a  rule,  it  varies  great- 
ly with  the  same  person.  This  is  one  of  the 
difficulties  against  which  all  investigators 
have  to  contend.    It  is  certainly  not  a  mor- 

64 


WHAT  SPIRITUALISM  TEACHES 

bid  state.  Nearly  all  the  most  famous  medi- 
ums have  been  in  all  other  respects  quite 
normal,  their  mediumship  being  quite  con- 
tingent. Although  they  are  generally  keen- 
witted, lucid  and  capable,  neither  the  physi- 
cal nor  the  mental  state  seems  to  have  much 
to  do  with  the  gift,  excepting  perhaps  in 
the  case  of  clairvoyance  and  the  ability  to 
receive  impressions,  i,e,,  thoughts  and  sensa- 
tions from  the  spirit  world;  and  then  it  is 
only  temporary,  the  mind  needing  to  be  in 
a  state  of  restfulness.  Mediumship,  in  its 
highest  degree,  is  comparable  with  genius. 
The  marvellous  things  it  is  able  to  accom- 
plish and  the  heights  of  spiritual  insight  it 
sometimes  attains,  are  not  inferior  to  some 
of  the  greatest  achievements  of  those  re- 
markable men  and  women  whom  we  have 
come  to  regard  as  superior  to  their  fellows, 
if  erratic  in  their  ways. 

There  is  a  marked  difference  between  the 
way  in  which  Spiritualism  endeavours  to 
spread  its  beliefs  and  the  method  adopted 
by  other  religions.  The  custom  of  nearly 
all  institutions  is  to  specialise  and  keep  the 
control  of  affairs  in  a  few  hands.    In  con- 

65 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

nection  with  religion,  this  ha^  invariably 
developed  into  priestcraft;  a  special  educa- 
tion and  ordainment  and  a  distinctive  mode 
of  dress,  making  the  dispensers  of  spiritual 
benefits  a  class  apart.  Whether  rightly  or 
wrongly,  the  public  taste  no  longer  runs  that 
way.  Priests  are  but  men  after  all;  and 
since  they  are  unable  to  substantiate  their 
special  claims,  they  are  not  likely  to  be  seri- 
ously regarded.  Spiritualism,  on  the  other 
hand,  makes  no  such  distinction  between 
people  and  the  attainment  of  truth.  Medi- 
ums, certainly,  stand  in  a  sense  apart  from 
the  ordinary  person,  but  simply  because 
they  prove  their  claims,  and  they  differ  only 
because  of  them.  They  can  claim  no  special 
virtue.  Nature  has  for  some  unaccountable 
reason  presented  them  with  valuable  giftsj^ 
but  so  has  she  others.  Some  people  have 
naturally  great  memories  or  fine  voices.  We 
admire  them  for  it,  but  do  not  reverence 
them.  If  anything  deserves  that,  it  is  surely 
the  Creator  and  Presenter  of  those  gifts. 
This  is  precisely  the  view  of  Spiritualism. 
For  aught  that  is  known,  half  the  world  may 
become  mediumistic ;  and  if  the  world  is  in- 

66 


WHAT  SPIRITUALISM  TEACHES 

terested  in  the  cultivation  of  the  power,  it 
can  undertake  the  task  without  the  aid  of 
any  specially  ordained  person,  and  in  their 
own  homes.  Two  things,  however,  are  nec- 
essary— a  knowledge  how  to  proceed  and 
sincerity  of  purpose.  The  former  can  be 
easily  obtained  by  a  brief  study  of  the  litera- 
ture upon  the  subject.  The  latter  is  en- 
tirely personal.  In  a  way,  the  **home  cir- 
cle" is  the  Spiritualists'  spiritual  labora- 
tory; in  another  it  is  their  temple.  This  is 
one  of  the  oldest  means  of  spiritual  com- 
munion, long  antedating  Modern  Spiritual- 
ism. As  with  the  ancient  Eomans,  the  true 
altar  of  worship  may  be  in  the  chief  living 
room  in  the  house ;  for  there,  above  all  other 
places,  may  we  suppose  our  departed  friends 
and  relations  will  find  best  those  conditions 
enabling  them  to  prove  their  continued  love 
and  interest  in  those  who  dwell  on  earth. 
More  psychic  force  is  generally  required 
for  successful  spirit  intercourse  than  the 
medium  possesses.  At  any  rate,  it  is  well 
known  that  each  person  taking  part  in  the 
seance  in  some  way  modifies  the  phenomena, 
usually  by  contributing  a  small  amount  to 

67 


^ 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

the  psychic  power  required.  Sometimes  the 
effect  is  quite  harmful,  retarding  the  mani- 
festation. This  may  arise  from  the  peculiar 
psychic  make-up  of  the  sitter,  or  from  the 
fact  that  the  seance  is  not  properly  ar- 
ranged. The  best  way  to  supply  good  condi- 
tions is  by  forming  a  circle.  It  is  not  in- 
dispensable, however,  although  never,  ap- 
parently, harmful. 

Psychic  force  is  subject  to  laws  anal- 
ogous in  some  respects  to  electricity.  It 
varies  with  the  sexes,  usually  being  **  nega- 
tive" with  females  and  ^* positive"  with 
males.  This,  again,  is  not  invariable,  whilst 
it  must  be  understood  that  the  terms  *' nega- 
tive" and  ** positive"  are  merely  meant  to 
describe  differences  rather  than  to  explain 
them. 

Ignorant  people  have  not  hesitated  to  ridi- 
cule the  idea  of  a  circle,  asking  of  what  use 
is  it.  But  that  is  the  inevitable  criticism 
levelled  at  any  new  science.  Galileo's  tele- 
scope and  almost  every  other  valuable  sci- 
entific discovery  has  met  the  same  fate.  The 
proper  answer  is  that  nature  demands  it, 
and  what  nature  demands  must  be  supplied 

68 


WHAT  SPIRITUALISM  TEACHES 

or  the  phenomena,  be  it  what  it  may,  wiU  be 
denied  us.  Extensive  experience  has  long 
justified  the  value  of  the  Spiritualistic  cir- 
cle. As  Spiritualism  among  its  most  devout 
followers  is  a  religion,  they  open  all  circles 
with  an  invocation  to  God,  and  occasionally 
throughout  the  proceedings  sing  hymns  or 
have  appropriate  music  played.  .Music  is 
a  valuable  aid  to  all  psychic  phenomena. 
The  vibrations  thus  set  up  are  said  to  be 
greatly  beneficial  to  the  spirit  entities  when 
moulding  the  psychic  force  or  otherwise 
using  it.  At  the  beginning  of  the  circle  it 
is  wise  for  all  present  to  clasp  hands,  plac- 
ing the  right  hand  over  their  neighbour's 
left,  thus  forming  an  endless  chain.  From 
one  to  two  hours  is  usually  long  enough  to 
sit,  after  which  the  meeting  should  be 
broken  up  with  a  benediction.  This,  it 
should  be  remembered,  is  the  spiritual 
method.  It  is  impossible  that  sceptics  would 
care  for  the  devotional  part.  It  may  also 
be  investigated  in  this  manner  from  a  purely 
scientific  point  of  view,  when  all  but  the 
devout  part  may  be  retained. 
Is  there  any  danger  in  Spiritualism?  If 
69 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

by  that  is  meant  are  there  devils,  the  an- 
swer must  be,  No — at  least,  so  far  as  the  dis- 
coveries of  Modem  Spiritualists  and  other 
psychic  investigators  have  up  to  the  present 
gone.  Strangely  enough,  this  is  one  of  the 
gravest  difficulties  Spiritualism  has  had  to 
meet  in  regard  to  certain  religious  people. 
There  is  always  opposition  against  discov- 
eries which  fail  to  support  old  established 
creeds  and  opinions.  Just  as  spirit  is  the 
last  thing  the  materialist  will  acknowledge, 
so  many  people  object  to  the  explanation  of 
an  after-life  that  leaves  out  the  unpleasant 
bogies  they  were  taught  in  childhood  to  be- 
lieve constitute  the  most  active  inhabitants 
of  the  unseen  world.  The  very  denial  of 
this  pet  idea  is  sufficient  to  bring  Spirit- 
ualism into  disrepute  as  actually  holding  in- 
tercourse with  devils  and  even  aiding  them 
in  their  nefarious  work !  These  are  the  peo- 
ple who  declare  Spiritualism  is  a  form  of 
diabolism:  that  spirit  possession  and  dia- 
bolical possession  are  the  same  thing.  No 
better  answer  can  be  given  than  that  of  Mr. 
F.  W.  H.  Myers,  one  of  the  greatest  authori- 
ties on  Spiritualism  and  psychic  phenom- 

70 


WHAT  SPIRITUALISM  TEACHES 

ena: — '*I  know  of  no  evidence — reaching  in 
any  way  our  habitual  standard,  either  for 
angelic,  for  diabolical,  or  for  hostile  posses- 
sion."* After  many  years  of  the  closest 
investigation  and  severest  criticism,  Mr. 
Myers  concluded  that,  apart  from  subcon- 
scious action  and  fraud,  we  have  *Ho  deal 
only  with  spirits  who  have  been  men  like 
ourselves." 

There  must  long  be  a  great  deal  of  differ- 
ence between  what  the  public  expect  and 
what  the  experimenter  discovers.  If  the 
phenomena  of  Spiritualism  are  carefully 
and  intelligently  investigated,  there  is  no 
danger  whatever.  No  more  danger  attaches 
to  it  than  to  any  other  branch  of  science. 
Eeasonableness  is  all  that  is  required  to  as- 
sure a  safe  passage,  and  the  attainment  of 
invaluable  knowledge. 

*F.  W.  H.  Myers'  ''Human  Personality  and  its  Survival 
of  Bodily  Death.''    VoL  II.  p.  198. 


71 


CHAPTER  IV 

WHY  I  BECAME  A  SPIRITUALIST 

From  scepticism  to  belief;  common  sense  as  a  guide;  facts 
compelled  belief;  fifteen  years'  intimate  acquaintance 
with  subject;  have  sat  with  many  famous  mediums;  the 
case  of  Sidney;  cross-correspondence;  ''Harry  Thomp- 
son''; the  Hanley  and  Southsea  incident;  Lombroso's 
mother  materialises  over  twenty  times;  a  materialisation; 
*'Eobert  Farell";  evidential  value  of  small  things;  my 
father  communicates  with  me;   blowing  kisses;   the  case 

As  the  principal  object  of  this  book  is  to 
convey  to  'Hhe  man  in  the  street"  an  idea 
of  what  Spiritualism  is,  an  account  of  a  few 
of  the  experiences  which  have  befallen  one 
who  has  passed  from  scepticism  to  belief 
may  not  be  without  interest.  I  lay  claim  to 
no  special  qualifications  for  discerning  the 
true  from  the  false  in  anything.  Common 
sense  has  always  been  my  guide ;  and,  since 
that  is  the  particular  quality  upon  which 
the  general  affairs  of  mankind  are  run, 
I  must  be  content  to  stand  or  fall  with  them. 

72 


WHY  I  BECAME  A  SPIRITUALIST 

To  believe  in  spirit  communion  was  never 
a  special  wish  of  mine.  At  one  time,  in- 
deed, I  bitterly  opposed  the  idea.  It  is  rea- 
son alone  that  has  compelled  me  to  change 
my  course :  to  have  done  otherwise  under  the 
circumstances  would  have  been  ridiculous 
and  false  to  myself  and  the  facts. 

For  fifteen  years  I  have  been  more  or  less 
intimate  with  Spiritualism  and  Spiritualists 
in  all  parts  of  the  British  Isles.  During 
the  last  ten  years  the  main  portion  of  my 
life  has  been  in  direct  touch  with  this  move- 
ment. I  have  taken  part  in  many  hundreds 
of  seances  of  various  kinds;  and  have  wit- 
nessed— in  the  presence  of  some  of  the  finest 
mediums  of  Europe,  America  and  Australia, 
and  through  my  own  psychic  powers — ^most 
astounding  proofs  of  the  survival  of  bodily 
death.  In  all  but  a  few  of  these  seances, 
my  presence  has  been  that  of  a  friend,  or  by 
special  invitation,  no  money  whatever  being 
demanded  of  me.  It  is  necessary  to  make 
this  perfectly  clear,  as  there  is  a  strong  in- 
clination for  critics  to  doubt  anything  pro- 
fessional in  this  respect :  why  this  should  be 
is  not  altogether  easy  to  explain.    Doctors, 

73 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

lawyers,  musicians,  poets,  politicians,  cler- 
gymen, are  not  less  honoured  and  trusted 
because  they  draw  stipends.  The  medium, 
however,  is  anathematised  for  putting  a 
monetary  value  on  his  services.  Be  that  as  it 
may,  like  Mark  Antony  at  the  burial  of 
Caesar,  I  must  speak  of  mediums  as  I  have 
foimd  them.  Pee  or  no  fee,  the  evidence — 
as  you,  reader,  shall  have  occasion  to  judge 
— has  been  conclusive. 

It  is  impossible  to  do  more  than  select  a 
few  out  of  my  many  psychic  experiences. 
They  are  not  more  convincing  than  a  great 
many  I  must  leave  unrecounted.  My  se- 
lection will  be  carefuUy  drawn  from  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  psychic  phenomena,  so  as  to 
show  how  each  may  be  equally  evidential. 

One  of  the  first  incidents  that  tended  to 
convince  me  there  was  something  more  in 
Spiritualism  than  mere  trickery  or  delusion, 
was  connected  closely  with  my  family.  A 
brother  of  mine  who  had  volunteered  for  the 
South  African  War,  came  home  after  the 
campaign  suffering  from  a  serious  chest 
trouble.  In  course  of  time  it  proved  too 
much  for  the  family  doctor,  who  advised  him 

74 


WHY  I  BECAME  A  SPIRITUALIST 

to  consult  a  specialist.  When  it  was  discov- 
ered that  his  illness  would  be  very  protract- 
ed, he  entered  as  an  *^in  patient"  in  one  of 
the  large  London  general  hospitals.  Al- 
though he  grew  gradually  worse,  the  idea  of 
his  death  was  not  for  a  long  time  enter- 
tained, as  nobody  seemed  quite  aware  of 
the  nature  of  his  complaint,  and  youth  and 
hope  were  on  his  side. 

At  his  instigation,  my  mother — practi- 
cally a  stranger  to  Spiritualism — took  a 
pocket  handkerchief  of  his  to  a  medium  for 
psychometrical  purposes  (i.e,,  by  holding 
the  article  the  ** sensitive"  gets  **in  touch" 
with  the  owner,  and  can  frequently  describe 
much  to  do  with  him,  both  past  and  to  come ; 
as  well  as  describe  spirit  forms  often  con- 
nected with  and  recognisable  by  him). 

To  make  quite  sure  that  nothing  unre- 
liable should  interfere  with  the  fulfilment  of 
this  request,  the  handkerchief  was  taken  to 
a  psychic  who  was  totally  blind,  having  no 
eyes.  On  three  occasions  the  interviews 
were  without  success ;  but  on  the  fourth  the 
results  were  marvellously  accurate.  An  ex- 
cellent description  was  given  of  the  sick  man 

75 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

and  his  whereabouts.  The  nature  of  his 
complaint  was  correctly  diagnosed,  and  with 
it  the  disheartening  assertion  that  he  could 
not  recover.  Then  came  the  most  striking 
part  of  the  reading.  The  medium  stated 
that  my  brother  would  pass  away  on  either 
the  22nd  or  23rd  of  February  of  the  follow- 
ing year.  She  was  uncertain  which  would 
be  the  date,  as  both  impressed  her  with  equal 
force.    This  statement  was  made  in  October, 

1903.  On  the  evening  of  February  23rd, 

1904,  my  mother  received  the  following 
letter: 

*'Mark  Ward, 
**S.B.  11. 
^^Feb.  23rd. 
*'Dear  Mrs.  Leaf, 

'*Poor  Sidney  passed  away  quite 
suddenly  at  1.15  a.m.  He  had  had  a  very 
bad  attack  of  breathing  about  11"  (p.m. 
22nd),  ^^the  worst  he  had  had,  and  he  said 
how  thankful  he  was  that  he  was  in  the  hos- 
pital, as  you  would  have  been  so  frightened. 
The  end  came  very  peacefully,  and  we  can 
only  say  thank  God  he  was  spared  any  more 
suffering.  *  *  Sister  Mark.  ' ' 

76 


WHY  I  BECAME  A  SPIRITUALIST 

If  the  act  of  dying  began  with  the  bad 
attack  of  breathing  on  the  22nd  February, 
my  brother's  death  at  1.15  a.m.  the  follow- 
ing morning,  includes  both  dates,  and  con- 
firms in  a  remarkable  manner  the  clair- 
voyante's  prediction. 

What  is  known  as  **  cross  correspond- 
ence" is  regarded  by  authorities  as  an  al- 
most ideal  method  of  establishing  identity. 
I  have  experienced  several  instances,  of 
which  the  following  are  excellent  examples. 
The  first  will  convey  an  idea  of  the  difficul- 
ties of  getting  tests  of  identity  always  veri- 
fied, for  not  very  often  are  circumstances 
likely  to  fall  as  favourably  as  in  this  in- 
stance. A  spirit  purported  to  control  a  me- 
dium in  my  presence,  giving  his  name  as 
^^ Harry  Thompson."  Among  other  things, 
he  assured  me  that  although  I  had  never 
known  him  in  earth  life,  he  was,  neverthe- 
less, deeply  interested  in  my  welfare,  and 
would  render  me  all  the  service  in  his  power. 
Needless  to  say,  there  was  not  an  iota  of 
evidence  for  survival  in  this;  and  had  the 
matter  remained  there  I  might  well  have 
been  in  doubt  as  to  whether  **  Harry  Thomp- 

77 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

son"  was  reaUy  an  entity  apart  from  the  in- 
dividuality of  the  medium  or  not.  My 
doubts,  however,  were  set  at  rest  seven  years 
later;  for  at  that  time  I  received  a  letter 
from  a  relation  who  had  been  many  years 
resident  in  America,  and  with  whom  I  rare- 
ly communicated  and  practically  never  dis- 
cussed my  affairs.  In  it  he  informed  me 
that  he  had  become  interested  in  Spiritual- 
ism, and  had  been  attending  seances  in  Los 
Angeles,  California,  U.S.A.  Among  much 
of  an  evidential  nature  there  had  happened 
to  him  one  incident  which  he  wished  to  re- 
fer to  me  for  confirmation.  At  one  of  these 
seances  a  spirit  had  manifested  giving  the 
name  of  ^' Harry  Thompson,"  who  declared 
he  had  already  made  himself  known  to  me 
and  was  anxious  for  my  brother  to  tell 
me  so. 

On  another  occasion,  during  a  visit  to 
Hanley,  Staffordshire,  I  received  an  invita- 
tion to  sit  with  a  well-known  clairvoyante, 
who,  during  entrancement,  gave  me  a  mes- 
sage supposed  to  come  from  an  acquaintance 
of  mine  who  had  recently  died.  The  evi- 
dence of  his  identity  was  convincing;  but 

78 


WHY  I  BECAME  A  SPIRITUALIST 

the  message  was  so  unexpected  and  remark- 
able that  my  confidence  was  shaken.  On 
arriving  in  London  two  days  later,  a  letter 
was  awaiting  me  from  a  town  in  the  South 
of  England,  considerably  more  than  two 
hundred  miles  distant  from  Hanley,  giving 
precisely  the  same  message  purporting  to 
come  from  the  same  spirit — christian  and 
surname  being  accurately  stated.  Upon  en- 
quiring of  the  writer  of  the  letter — ^who 
must  have  been  totally  unacquainted  with 
my  movements  at  the  time — ^how  this  came 
about,  it  turned  out  that  he  was  attending  a 
seance  with  a  very  different  kind  of  medium 
in  Southsea  within  a  few  hours  of  my  sitting 
at  Hanley,  when  this  same  spirit  came  with 
the  same  message  for  me. 

I  do  not  purpose  mentioning  what  I  deem 
my  most  marvellous  experience  of  psychic 
phenomena,  because  it  would  probably  be 
quite  beyond  the  power  of  the  enquirer  or 
the  neophyte  to  believe  it.  Suffice  it  to  say, 
that  incidents  happen  in  the  seance-room 
outdoing  for  marvellousness  even  such 
legends  as  the  ** Arabian  Nights'  Entertain- 
ment."   Some  of  the  testimonies  of  scien- 

79 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

tific  observers  prove  this.  My  next  story- 
has  a  certain  spice  of  humour  in  it.  It  cer- 
tainly left  the  sitters  unconvinced  until  it 
was  unexpectedly  confirmed. 

It  happened  in  June,  1915,  in  the  house  of 
Dr.  W.  J.  Crawford,  during  one  of  his  ex- 
perimental seances  with  his  remarkable  cir- 
cle of  mediums.  There  were  the  usual  dem- 
onstrations of  psychic  force  for  which  this 
*^ circle"  is  famous,  including  the  levitation 
of  physical  objects.  It  was  held  in  light, 
thus  enabling  all  present  to  see  the  whole 
of  the  proceedings ;  full  opportunity  having 
been  afforded  me  to  inspect  the  apparatus 
and  arrangement  of  the  circle  before  and 
even  after  the  seance  commenced.  The  usual 
taps  and  thuds  were  heard,  and  then,  by  re- 
quest, the  unseen  operators  imitated  very 
cleverly  various  peculiar  sounds,  such  as  are 
caused  when  sawing  wood  and  bouncing  a 
ball.  Dr.  Crawford  then  suggested  that  we 
should  see  whether  we  could  obtain  evidence 
of  identity  from  any  spirits  who  might  be 
present.  The  raps  immediately  signified  ap- 
proval. 

In  answer  to  a  question  put  by  myself,  it 
80 


WHY  I  BECAME  A  SPIRITUALIST 

was  stated  by  the  raps  that  someone  was 
present  desirous  of  communicating  facts 
about  himself.  It  was  agreed  that  the  in- 
visible communicators  should  rap  at  the  cor- 
rect letters  forming  the  words  they  wished 
to  convey  as  one  of  the  sitters  slowly  repeat- 
ed the  alphabet.  In  this  way  the  name 
'^Robert  Farell"  was  spelt  out.  As  no  one 
present  knew  any  such  person,  he  was  asked 
to  signify  with  whom  he  wished  to  communi- 
cate. It  was  with  myself.  I  informed  him 
that  I  was  quite  unacquainted  with  anyone 
of  that  name,  but  the  raps  conveyed  the  in- 
formation that  he  was  known  to  a  friend  of 
mine  whose  name  he  mentioned.  As  the  gen- 
tleman referred  to  had  a  rather  distinctive 
and  honourable  profession,  I  wondered  if 
^'Robert  Farell"  could  tell  me  what  it  was. 
He  readily  proved  he  could. 

Thinking  that  perhaps  **  Robert  Farell" 
had  been  a  member  of  the  same  profession, 
I  invited  him  to  tell  me  what  particular  oc- 
cupation he  had  followed  when  on  earth. 
This,  to  the  astonishment  of  all  present,  he 
peremptorily  refused  to  do.  All  thought  this 
very  singular,  as  there  appeared  to  be  no  rea- 

81 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

son  why  that  should  not  be  rapped  out  as 
well  as  the  particulars  already  received. 
There  was  certainly  no  lack  of  psychic 
power  as  subsequent  phenomena  proved; 
but  every  effort  to  obtain  the  desired  in- 
formation met  with  so  decided  a  rebuff  that 
we  at  last  desisted,  feeling  the  value  of  the 
test  had  been  greatly  impaired. 

The  next  day  I  wrote  my  friend  a  letter 
in  which  I  mentioned  the  seance  and  that 
the  name  Eobert  Farell  had  been  given  as 
known  to  him.  Nothing  however  was  said 
about  the  failure  to  obtain  information  of 
the  spirit's  earthly  profession.  A  few  weeks 
later,  my  friend,  who  had  been  staying  at 
a  South  Coast  holiday  resort,  visited  me  in 
London.  As  he  had  not  answered  my  letter 
about  Robert  Farell,  I  mentioned  the  matter 
to  him  again.  He  admitted  he  and  his 
brother  had  known  a  gentleman  of  that 
name  some  forty  years  ago  in  London;  but 
I  observed  a  strong  disinclination  on  his 
part  to  talk  about  the  subject.  At  last  he 
said,  **  Eobert  Farell  was  quite  a  notorious 
character  in  the  district,  and  I  only  knew 
him  as  a  neighbour.    I  saw  him  many  times, 

82 


WHY  I  BECAME  A  SPIRITUALIST 

but  have  no  wish  to  talk  about  him."  I 
told  him  that  '^Farell"  knew  his  profession. 
My  friend  agreed  that  he  undoubtedly  did. 
I  then  connnenced  to  tell  him  that  I  had 
asked  **Farell"  what  his  particular  profes- 
sion was.  *'He  refused  to  tell  you  that,  I 
expect,"  interrupted  my  friend.  ^^Yes;  but 
why?"  *^Well,  I  expect  because  he  was  a 
professional  thief ! "  * 

There  are  three  probable  reasons  why  the 
name  of  Eobert  Farell's  profession  should 
be  refused.  First,  that  he  was  ashamed  of 
his  past  life.  Secondly,  that  as  he  was 
known  to  my  friend  only  by  repute  and  as 
a  neighbour,  he  did  not  wish  to  convey  the 
impression  that  friends  of  mine  had  been  in 
any  way  associated  with  questionable  char- 
acters. Thirdly,  because  he  did  not  wish  to 
upset  the  sitters,  some  of  whom,  being  new 
to  the  subject  of  Spiritualism,  might  form 
a  wrong  idea  of  it.  Thus  what  appeared  to 
detract  from  the  value  of  the  test,  really 
added  point  and  interest  to  it. 

The  value  of  small  things  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  identity  is  now  generally  under- 

•''The  Two  Worlds/'  Vol.  28,  p.  506,  1915. 
83 


/ 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

stood.  A  small  mole  or  indelible  mark  on 
some  particular  part  of  a  person's  body  is 
far  more  likely  to  lead  to  their  identifica- 
tion than  a  general  description  of  their  ap- 
pearance. It  is  the  same  with  psychic  iden- 
tification. A  grandfather  of  mine  was  once 
described  by  a  clairvoyante  very  accurately; 
but  after  all,  it  was  not  conclusive,  since 
many  people  were  like  him  in  a  general  way. 
When,  however,  the  medium  said  he  was  in 
the  habit  of  standing  with  his  left  knee  bent, 
and  that  he  attracted  her  attention  to  it  by 
slowly  rubbing  it,  there  was  much  less  room 
for  doubt.  My  grandfather  had  seriously 
injured  his  left  knee  several  years  before 
he  died,  and  ever  after,  when  he  stood  still 
he  kept  the  knee  bent,  and  often  rubbed  it 
in  the  manner  described.  Here  the  small 
thing  counted.  Before  my  father's  decease 
we  used  to  say  he  was  a  '^Spiritualist  up 
to  a  point,"  for  a  reason  known  only  to  his 
family.  In  the  autumn  of  1917,  he  purported 
to  speak  with  me  in  the  '* direct"  voice,  that 
is,  independently  of  the  medium's  organism, 
and  so  loudly  and  naturally  that  all  present 
could  hear  him.    The  medium  knew  nothing 

84 


WHY  I  BECAME  A  SPIRITUALIST 

about  my  father,  the  towns  in  which  they 
lived  being  four  hundred  miles  apart.  After 
the  voice  had  been  speaking  some  time,  one 
of  the  sitters  vouchsafed  the  remark  that  my 
father  must  have  been  a  good  Spiritualist. 
I  replied  that  he  had  been.  Immediately 
the  voice  said :  ^  *  Up  to  a  point. ' '  That  brief 
sentence  was  far  more  evidential  than  his 
full  name,  and  many  other  notable  facts.  It 
was  a  small  thing,  but  it  counted.  I  once 
met  a  bereaved  father  at  a  trumpet  seance 
(i,e,,  where  the  direct  voice  is  produced,  and 
a  metal  tnunpet  used  to  concentrate  the 
sound  waves  in  the  direction  of  the  person 
to  whom  the  voice  wishes  to  speak)  express 
his  belief  that  his  little  son  had  communi- 
cated with  him  because  of  the  manner  in 
which  he  **blew  kisses"  to  him.  It  had  been 
the  little  boy's  habit  when  on  earth  to  give 
the  kisses  in  bunches,  as  it  were,  and  then 
blow  them  in  the  same  way  afterwards.  He 
did  precisely  the  same  thing  through  the 
trumpet.  Had  each  kiss  been  blown  sepa- 
rately it  could  hardly  have  been  his  child. 

There  are  probably  not  more  than  a  dozen 
trumpet  mediums  in  Great  Britain  at  the 

85 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

present  time.  Six  years  ago  there  appear 
to  have  been  none.  This  is  a  new  but  very 
satisfactory  means  of  spirit-communion.  It 
gives  at  least  as  good  evidence  that  one 
speaks  with  one's  *'dead"  friends,  as  the 
telephone  does  regarding  those  living.  An 
idea  of  the  splendidly  evidential  nature  of 
communications  received  in  this  way  can  be 
obtained  by  reading  *^The  Voices,"  by  Vice- 
Admiral  Usborne  Moore. 

In  many  respects  it  is  superior  to  almost 
all  other  forms  of  psychic  phenomena,  and 
through  it  I  have  received  many  excellent 
tests,  of  which  the  following  is  an  example : 

Four  years  ago  I  lost  a  brother-in-law,  an 
agnostic.  We  had  often  discussed  the  sub- 
ject of  Spiritualism,  and  as  he  was  sceptical, 
he  had  formed  an  opinion  of  what  he  re- 
garded as  necessary  to  constitute  a  satis- 
factory test  of  survival.  It,  he  maintained, 
must  be  information  not  known  to  the  sitter, 
nor  to  any  other  person  but  the  one  profes- 
sing to  communicate.  The  value  of  psychic 
evidence  must  always,  he  thought,  be  deter- 
mined by  what  the  sitter  knew,  especially  by 
what  was  consciously  in  his  mind  at  the  time 

86 


WHY  I  BECAME  A  SPIRITUALIST 

of  the  supposed  communication.  Thus,  if 
the  name  of  a  deceased  person  were  in  his 
thoughts,  the  fact  that  that  name  was  men- 
tioned would  not  constitute  evidence,  as  the 
medium  might  have  consciously  or  uncon- 
sciously read  it  telepathically.  If  something 
was  said  that  the  sitter  knew,  but  was  not 
at  the  moment  thinking  about,  but  of  some- 
thing else,  then  its  evidential  value  would  be 
increased.  Should,  however,  anything  be 
told  quite  unknown  to  the  recipient  and 
afterwards  verified,  that  might  be  regarded 
as  conclusive.  It  is  necessary  to  remark 
that  my  brother-in-law  was  well  read  and 
above  the  average  in  intellectual  qualifica- 
tions. He  died  when  quite  a  young  man, 
after  having  been  an  invalid  throughout  the 
whole  of  his  life. 

Shortly  after  his  death  I  sat  by  invita- 
tion with  a  weU-known  '* voice  medium," 
who  knew  nothing  about  my  brother-in-law. 
Being  an  only  son  and  much  loved  by  his 
parents,  his  mother  had  taken  his  decease 
sadly  to  heart;  and,  although  nothing  was 
ever  said  by  her  on  the  matter,  there  was 
no  doubt  she  was  worried  by  her  son's  un- 

87 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

belief.  During  the  *  *  voice ' '  seance  the  trum- 
pet   approached    me,    and    I    recognised 

L 's  voice  saying  anxiously:    ^*Tell  my 

mother  I  am  living,  and  not  dead.  Tell 
my  mother  I  am  living."  Instantly  his  full 
name  came  to  my  mind,  and  filled  it  to  the 
exclusion  of  all  else.  I,  therefore,  forget- 
ting all  we  had  said  on  the  subject  of  Spirit- 
ualism, asked  him  to  tell  me  his  name.  In- 
stead of  which,  he  said  to  me:  **Do  you  re- 
member the  photographs  you  had  taken  last 
Christmas?"  For  the  moment  I  did  not, 
until  he  remarked:  **Yes,  you  do;  you  gave 
my  sister  one."  That  brought  the  incident 
to  my  mind.  The  previous  Christmas  I  had 
had  my  photograph  taken  by  request,  and 
I  had  given  one  to  his  sister,  and  at  that 
moment  it  must  have  been  reclining  on  her 
mantel-shelf  several  miles  away. 

**Yes,  I  remember  now.  But  what  is  your 
name?"  I  asked. 

*'Do  you  know,"  was  the  evasive  reply, 
**that  I  died  of  internal  haemorrhage?" 

Now,  the  doctor  attributed  his  death  to 
heart-failure ;  but,  upon  consideration, 
haemorrhage  was  much  the  likelier  cause. 

88 


WHY  I  BECAME  A  SPIRITUALIST 

He  had  taken  no  solid  food  for  over  a  month 
and  was  greatly  reduced  in  strength.  Sev- 
eral times  he  had  been  warned  against  sub- 
jecting himself  to  an  internal  strain,  as  it 
might  be  fatal.  He  disobeyed,  fell  back,  and 
expired  immediately.  The  value  of  this  re- 
mark rests  in  his  informing  me  of  what  was 
probably  true,  although  it  had  never  en- 
tered my  thoughts.  After  much  other  talk 
of  this  kind,  the  voice  suddenly  said  to  me : 

*'Do  you  know  I  have  a  watch  and 
chain?'' 

^^No." 

**  Well,  I  have ;  the  chain  is  in  my  mother's 
house,  upstairs  in  a  drawer." 

Here  was  a  splendid  point.    L ,  who 

had  always  been  rather  immaculate  in  his 
dress,  had  never  to  my  knowledge  worn  a 
watch  and  chain.  This  I  had  observed  with 
surprise,  although  I  had  never  enquired  the 
reason  for  it. 

After    the    seance    I    went    directly    to 

L- 's  sister  and  asked  her  whether  she 

knew  anything  about  his  watch  and  chain. 
She  did  not.  At  my  earnest  request  she  went 
to  her  mother,  who  lived  the  other  side  of 

89 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

London,  specially  bearing  in  mind  that  if  a 
watch  and  chain  of  her  brother's  were  not 
known  to  exist,  they  were  to  search  for 
them.  Nothing  was  said  by  me  as  to  their 
probable  whereabouts.    The  result  was,  that 

by  diligently  searching,  a  chain  of  L 's, 

which  had  been  long  forgotten,  was  found 
in  a  drawer  in  the  bedroom  L had  oc- 
cupied upstairs.  The  watch — of  the  where- 
abouts of  which  the  voice  had  said  nothing 
— was  discovered  in  a  small  box,  also  up- 
stairs. 

When  these  facts  are  compared  with  my 
brother-in-law's  conception  of  a  reliable  test 
for  the  survival  of  identity,  the  proof,  I 
think,  is  complete,  even  if  I  had  not  recog- 
nised his  voice  and  mannerisms. 

There  has  always  been  a  particular  charm 
about  materialisation,  and  perhaps  this 
form  of  psychic-phenomena  has  done  more 
than  any  other  to  convince  sceptics  that  there 
is  a  life  after  death.  The  experience  of  Sir 
William  Crookes  with  Katie  King  is  only 
one  of  many  similar  experiences  by  equally 
reliable  authorities.  Lombroso  affirms  that 
his   mother   materialised   at   least   twenty 

90 


WHY  I  BECAME  A  SPIRITUALIST 

times  to  him  during  his  seances  with  Eusa- 
pia  Paladino,  and  she  would  say:  ^'  *My 
son,  my  treasure!'  Kissing  my  head  and 
lips  with  her  lips."*  After  such  unim- 
peachable testimony  I  may  unhesitatingly 
mention  one — ^by  no  means  the  best — of  my 
experiences  of  this  kind  of  manifestation. 

The  seance  was  held  in  the  house  of  a 
friend,  and  was  of  the  ^^dark"  variety.  The 
exclusion  of  light  undoubtedly  weakens  the 
value  of  the  tests  received,  unless  they  are 
unusually  good.  On  this  occasion  a  brother 
of  mine,  who  was  investigating  with  me,  sat 
on  one  side  of  the  table,  directly  opposite 
me,  the  medium  being  held  securely  by  the 
hands  by  two  of  the  sitters  some  distance 
away.  Visibility  was  obtained  by  the  means 
usually  adopted  at  this  kind  of  seance,  name- 
ly, by  a  phosphorescent  slate  being  placed 
on  the  table  for  the  manifesting  forms  to 
lift  and  hold  close  to  their  faces,  the  light 
given  forth  by  the  slate  being  sufficiently 
strong  to  reveal  the  features  satisfactorily. 

A  mutual  friend  of  my  brother's  and  mine 
who  had  passed  away  about  three  years  be- 

*** After  Death— Whatr*    By  Cesare  Lombroso,  pp.  68-9. 

91 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

fore,  and  who  was  absolutely  unknown  to 
anyone  present  beside  ourselves,  made  a 
convincing  manifestation  by  showing  him- 
self to  each  of  us  separately,  his  face  bear- 
ing unmistakable  evidences  of  his  identity. 
The  complaint  from  which  he  died  had 
caused  his  neck  to  swell  in  a  peculiar  man- 
ner, whilst  he  had  badly  broken  his  nose 
through  an  accident  several  years  before  his 
decease.  Apart  from  other  points,  these  two 
were  most  obvious  when  he  manifested,  so 
as  to  leave  no  room  for  doubt  as  to  his  iden- 
tification. 


92 


CHAPTER  V 

AUTHENTICATED    CASES   OF   SPIRIT 
COMMUNICATIONS 

Number  very  great;  efforts  to  destroy  their  evidential  value 
fail;  *' Abraham  Florentine";  Dr.  Venzano'a  experience; 
Mrs.  Piper's  mediumship;  *'The  Greek  message";  George 
Pelham;  the  *' Honolulu"  incident  of  Eaymond  Lodge; 
communications  of  exalted  character  often  received. 

So  great  is  the  number  of  well-attested 
cases  of  spirit-coimnunion,  that  considera- 
ble difficulty  is  experienced  in  selecting  the 
best  from  among  them.  Where  identity  has 
thus  been  successfully  established  the  value 
may  be  said  to  be  equal,  although  the  cir- 
cumstances may  vary  considerably,  and,  con- 
sequently, some  instances  may  appear  more 
attractive  than  others.  The  literature  of 
Spiritualism  and  psychical  research  is  lit- 
erally replete  with  examples,  and  they  are 
being  added  to  daily.  Every  effort  to  ac- 
count for  them  by  non-Spiritualistic  theo- 
rieB  fails  because  they  cannot  cover  all  the 
facts.    Very  often,  however,  these  theories 

93 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM*? 

offer  a  reasonable  explanation  for  some  of 
the  facts;  but  these,  too,  are  usually  ac- 
countable for  by  the  Spiritualistic  hypothe- 
sis, which  also  explains  what  the  others  can- 
not. 

We  naturally  look  for  the  imprimatur  of 
qualified  personages  when  selecting  veridical 
cases  of  spirit-intercourse.  Nothing  but  the 
testimonies  of  most  capable  judges  can  sat- 
isfy us  on  a  matter  so  important,  and,  as  is 
commonly  believed,  obscure.  But  it  is  no 
easy  matter  to  decide  who  is  qualified  and 
who  is  not.  Choice  almost  invariably  falls 
upon  the  scientist,  because  he  has  received  a 
special  training  to  enable  him  to  observe  and 
carefully  weigh  evidence,  while  a  love  of 
truth  is  supposed  to  determine  all  his  con- 
clusions. Furthermore,  he  at  least  has  noth- 
ing to  gain  by  testifying  to  these  things ;  as 
a  rule,  indeed,  he  has  much  to  lose.  None 
recognises  this  more  than  the  Spiritualist, 
and  none  appeals  more  persistently  than  he 
to  scientific  testimony  to  support  his  claims. 
We  need  to  be  careful,  however,  lest,  in  our 
anxiety  for  accuracy,  we  overlook  other  wit- 
nesses who  may  be  equally  qualified  and  sin- 

94 


AUTHENTICATED  CASES 

cere.  The  testimony  of  the  average  person 
has  some  claim  to  respect,  as  the  history  of 
Modern  Spiritualism  clearly  shows,  for  long 
before  scientists  gave  their  benediction  to 
psychic  phenomena,  the  rank  and  file  spoke 
of  their  existence,  and  ventured  to  explain 
in  various  ways  their  origin.  This,  too, 
when  science  held  itself  entirely  aloof  with 
an  air  of  disdainful  superiority,  declaring 
that  whoever  professed  to  believe  in  such 
things  were  either  credulous  fools  or  cun- 
ning rogues.  Science  was  wrong,  while  the 
average  person  was  right,  as  time  has 
proved.  The  fact  is,  common-sense  and  sin- 
cerity are  not  bad  qualifications  for  any  in- 
vestigator in  the  domains  of  psychical  re- 
search. The  phenomena,  intricate  enough 
in  many  instances,  are  often  very  plain  and 
simple,  so  that  none  need  then  err. 

It  is  because  of  this  that  no  better  exam- 
ple of  authenticated  cases  of  spirit-commu- 
nication can  be  selected  in  opening  this 
chapter,  than  that  of  *' Abraham  Floren- 
tine." All  the  witnesses  are  good,  honour- 
able folk  who  made  no  pretensions  to  pos- 
sessing special  qualifications  for  discerning 

95 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

truth  from  error,  but  who  nevertheless  were 
exhaustive  in  their  inquiries  and  careful  in 
their  conclusions  regarding  the  nature  of 
the  invisible  communicator.  Their  one  de- 
sire was  for  truth ;  and  when  convinced  who 
the  unseen  operator  was,  they  were  as  sur- 
prised and  pleased  as  strangers  under  the 
circumstances  could  be. 

In  August,  1874,  the  Rev.  W.  Stainton 
Moses  was  staying  with  Dr.  Stanhope  Speer 
at  Shanklin,  Isle  of  Wight.  Being  inter- 
ested in  Spiritualism,  and  the  Eev.  Stainton 
Moses  an  excellent  medium,  they  had  a  num- 
ber of  sittings,  and  at  one  of  them  a  spirit 
purported  to  communicate  who  gave  his 
name  as  Abraham  Florentine.  He  said  he 
had  been  concerned  in  the  war  of  1812,  and 
that  he  died  at  Brooklyn,  U.S.A.,  on  August 
5th,  1874,  at  the  age  of  eighty-three  years, 
one  month  and  seventeen  days.  At  first  there 
was  some  diificulty  in  making  out  whether 
the  month  and  days  referred  to  his  age  or  to 
the  length  of  his  illness;  but  this  difficulty 
was  eventually  overcome. 

The  manner  in  which  the  communication 
was  made  was  table-tilting.  The  Rev.  Stain- 

96 


AUTHENTICATED  CASES 

ton  Moses,  Dr.  Speer,  and  another  person 
were  seated  round  a  heavy  loo-table,  which 
two  persons  could  move  only  with  difficulty. 
Instead  of  raps,  to  which  on  such  occasions 
the  company  were  accustomed,  the  table 
commenced  to  tilt.  So  eager  was  the  com- 
municating spirit,  that  the  table  rose  some 
seconds  before  the  required  letter  was  ar- 
rived at.  In  order,  for  instance,  to  mark 
'^T,"  it  would  rise,  quivering  as  if  with  ex- 
citement, about  **K,"  and  then  descend  at 
<^T"  with  a  thump  that  shook  the  floor. 
This  was  repeated  until  the  whole  message 
was  complete.  From  the  general  nature  of 
the  phenomena  the  opinion  was  formed  that 
Abraham  Florentine,  were  he  a  real  entity, 
was  of  a  decided  and  impetuous  disposition. 
The  matter  was  privately  communicated 
to  Mr.  Bpes  Sargent,  who  inserted  an  ac- 
count of  it  in  the  Banner  of  Light  on  De- 
cember 12th,  1874,  which  resulted  in  the  fol- 
lowing letter  being  received  from  America : 

**To  the  Editor  of  the  Banner  of  Light. 

^*In  the  Banner  to-day  received  here,  is 
the  paragraph  concerning  a  spirit  who  mani- 

97 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

f  ested  through  the  medium  of  a  dining-table 
at  some  place  in  England,  and  gave  the  name 
of  Abraham  Florentine,  a  soldier  in  the  war 
of  1812.  You  make  inquiry  whether  any- 
one ever  heard  of  Abraham  Florentine.  I 
cannot  specifically  answer  that  question,  but 
having  been  engaged  some  fourteen  years 
since  in  auditing  the  claims  of  the  soldiers 
of  1812  in  the  State  of  New  York,  I  am  yet 
in  possession  of  the  records  of  all  such  who 
made  claims  for  service  in  that  war.  In 
those  records  appears  the  name  of  Abraham 
Florentine,  of  Brooklyn,  New  York,  and  a 
full  record  of  his  service  can  be  obtained  in 
the  Office  of  the  Adjutant-General  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  in  claim  No.  11,518, 
war  of  1812.  I  think,  however,  that  he  there 
claimed  for  a  longer  term  of  service  than 
that  he  gave  in  England,  his  allowance  being 
fifty-eight  doUars.      u^^^^  ^illab, 

**  Claim  Agent. 
*^  Washington,  D.C., 

^'December  13th,  1874." 

In  accordance  with  this  advice  a  letter  was 
addressed  by  the  Editor  of  the  Banner  to  the 

98 


AUTHENTICATED  CASES 

Adjutant-General,  S.N.Y.,  asking  for  the 
facts  without  giving  any  reason  for  the  re- 
quest.    The  following  reply  was  received: 

General  Headquarters, 
'^Stateof  NewYork, 

** Adjutant-General's  Ofl&ce, 
'*  Albany, 
<<gjj^  ''January  25th,  1875. 

''In  reply  to  your  communication,  dated 
January  22nd,  I  have  to  furnish  you  the  fol- 
lowing information  from  the  records  of  this 
office :  Abraham  Florentine,  private  in  Cap- 
tain Nicole's  Company,  1st  Regiment,  New 
York  Militia,  Colonel  Dodge,  volunteered  at 
New  York  on  or  about  the  2nd  of  Septem- 
ber, 1814,  served  three  months,  and  was  hon- 
ourably discharged.  He  received  Land 
Warrant  No.  63,365,  for  forty  acres.  The 
above  is  taken  from  the  soldier's  sworn 
statement,  and  not  from  official  records. 
"Very  respectfully, 

"Pranexin  Townsend, 
"Colby  &  Eich,        "Adjutant-General. 
"No.  9,  Montgomery  Place, 
"Boston." 

99 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

Dr.  Crowell,  of  Brooklyn,  N.Y.,  took  steps 
to  obtain  additional  verification  from  Flor- 
entine's widow.  His  letter  was  published  in 
the  Banner,  February  20th,  1875,  as  follows : 

**To  the  Editor  of  the  Banner  of  Light. 

**Upon  reading  in  the  Banner  of  the 
13th  inst.,  the  article  headed  *  Abraham  Flor- 
entine— Verification  of  his  Message,'  I  ex- 
amined my  Brooklyn  Directory,  and  there 
found  the  name  of  Abraham  Florentine, 
with  the  address  119,  Kosciusco  Street.  Be- 
ing at  the  moment  disengaged  and  interested 
in  pursuing  the  subject,  I  at  once  sought  the 
street  and  number  indicated,  and  my  appli- 
cation at  the  door  was  met  by  an  elderly 
lady,  of  whom  I  inquired  whether  Mr.  Abra- 
ham Florentine  resided  there.  The  reply  was, 
*He  did  reside  here,  but  he  is  now  dead.' 

Ques. :  May  I  inquire  whether  you  are 
Mrs.  Florentine,  his  widow? 

Ans. :  I  am. 

**Upon  here  remarking  that  I  would  be 
pleased  to  obtain  some  information  about 
her  late  husband,  she  invited  me  to  a  seat 

100 


AUTHENTICATED  CASES,  ,7,  \\\: 

in  the  parlour,  and  our  conversation  was 
then  resumed. 

Ques. :  May  I  ask  when  he  died  ? 

Ans. :  Last  August. 

Ques. :  At  what  time  in  that  month  ? 

Ans. :  On  the  fifth. 

Ques.:  What  was  his  age  at  time  of  his 
decease  ? 

Ans.:  Eighty-three. 

Ques.:   Had  he  passed  his  eighty-third 
year? 

Ans. :  Yes ;  his  eighty-third  birthday  was 
on  the  previous  eighth  of  June. 

Ques.:  Was  he  engaged  in  any  war? 

Ans.:  Yes;  in  the  war  of  1812. 

Ques. :   Was  he  naturally  active  and  self- 
reliant,  or  the  reverse? 

Ans. :  He  had  a  will  of  his  own,  and  was 
rather  impetuous. 

Ques. :  Was  his  last  illness  of  long  or  short 
duration,  and  did  he  su:ffer  much? 

Ans. :  He  was  confined  to  bed  for  a  year 
or  more,  and  suffered  a  good  deal. 

*^  Eugene  Crowell,  M.D. 

^^  Brooklyn,  N.Y., 
'^February  15th,  1875." 
101 


'1;  ,;>VHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

It  will  be  observed  there  is  a  discrepancy 
of  ten  days  between  the  age  of  Abraham 
Florentine  as  communicated  through  the  ta- 
ble and  that  stated  by  his  wife.  But  it  is  a 
discrepancy  hardly  worthy  of  serious  no- 
tice, as  either  he  or  she  may  have  been 
equally  mistaken.  The  main  facts  are  un- 
mistakably accurate.  Besides,  Abraham 
Florentine  was,  previous  to  this  event,  un- 
known to  any  of  the  sitters.  Nor  had  they 
friends  in  America  who  could  have  supplied 
them  with  news  of  what  went  on  there ;  and 
even  supposing  they  had,  it  is  very  improba- 
ble they  would  have  reported  an  affair  in 
which  they  could  have  felt  no  interest.  The 
facts  may  therefore  be  regarded  as  reliable 
evidence  of  the  spiritual  presence  at  the 
seance  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  of  the  old 
American  soldier,  who  had  lived  and  died 
more  than  three  thousand  miles  away. 

In  the  Annals  of  Psychical  Science  for 
September,  1907,  under  the  signature  of  Dr. 
Joseph  Venzano,  who  relates  the  incident  at 
first-hand  soon  after  it  occurred,  appears 
the  following  account,  which,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, is  accountable  for  only  as  evi- 

102 


AUTHENTICATED  CASES 

dence  of  continued  existence  after  death. 
The  room  in  which  it  occurred  was  lighted 
by  a  candle  in  an  ante-room,  and  the  me- 
dium was  under  strict  control. 

**In  spite  of  the  dimness  of  the  light," 
writes  Dr.  Venzano,  **I  could  distinctly  see 
Mme.  Paladino  and  my  fellow-sitters.  Sud- 
denly, I  perceived  that  behind  me  was  a 
form,  fairly  tall,  which  was  leaning  its  head 
on  my  left  shoulder  and  sobbing  violently, 
so  that  those  present  could  hear  the  sobs; 
it  kissed  me  repeatedly.  I  clearly  perceived 
the  outlines  of  this  face,  which  touched  my 
own,  and  I  felt  the  very  fine  and  abundant 
hair  in  contact  with  my  left  cheek,  so  that  I 
could  be  quite  sure  that  it  was  a  woman. 
The  table  then  began  to  move,  and  by 
typtology  gave  the  name  of  a  close  family 
connection  who  was  known  to  no  one  pres- 
ent except  myself.  She  had  died  some  time 
before,  and  on  account  of  incompatibility 
of  temperament  there  had  been  serious  dis- 
agreements with  her.  I  was  so  far  from  ex- 
pecting this  typtological  response  that  I  at 
first  thought  this  was  a  case  of  coincidence 

103 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

of  name ;  but  while  I  was  mentally  forming 
this  reflection  I  felt  a  mouth,  with  warm 
breath,  touch  my  left  ear  and  whisper,  in  a 
low  voice  in  Genoese  dialect,  a  succession  of 
sentences,  the  murmur  of  which  was  audible 
to  the  sitters.  These  sentences  were  broken 
by  bursts  of  weeping,  and  their  gist  was  to 
repeatedly  implore  pardon  for  injuries  done 
to  me,  with  a  fulness  of  detail  connected 
with  family  affairs  which  could  only  be 
known  to  the  person  in  question.  The  phe- 
nomenon seemed  so  real  that  I  felt  com- 
pelled to  reply  to  the  excuses  offered  me  with 
expressions  of  affection,  and  to  ask  pardon 
in  my  turn  if  any  resentment  of  the  wrongs 
referred  to  had  been  excessive.  But  I  had 
scarcely  uttered  the  first  syllables  when  two 
hands,  with  exquisite  delicacy,  applied  them- 
selves to  my  lips  and  prevented  my  continu- 
ing. The  form  then  said  to  me,  *  Thank  you ! ' 
embraced  me,  kissed  me,  and  disappeared." 

Others  present  at  the  seance  corroborated 
these  facts.  Hallucination,  therefore,  could 
not  explain  them.  The  recipient  asserts  that 
he  was  perfectly  calm  throughout  the  pro- 

104 


AUTHENTICATED  CASES 

ceedings,  and  that  he  did  not  cease  to  care- 
fully watch  the  medium,  who  was  awake  and 
visible  to  all  present.  Dr.  Venzano  was 
quite  convinced  of  the  absence  of  fraud ;  the 
medium  being  quite  ignorant  of  the  family 
details  that  had  been  revealed.  This  case  is 
particularly  interesting,  as  it  originally 
forced  one  of  the  most  capable  and  sceptical 
inquirers — an  expert  prestidigitateur  and 
an  authority  on  the  detection  of  psychic 
frauds — into  an  attitude  of  belief.* 

The  Society  for  Psychical  Eesearch  was 
founded  in  1882  for  the  express  purpose  of 
scientifically  investigating  the  phenomena 
of  Spiritualism.  Of  the  four  men  who  were 
instrumental  in  founding  it — Professor 
Henry  Sidgwick,  Dr.  Edmund  Gurney,  F. 
W.  H.  Myers  and  Professor  W.  F.  Bar- 
rett— ^the  latter  alone  remains  with  us.  More 
recently  has  departed  Professor  Richard 
Hodgson,  the  only  member  of  the  Society 
who  devoted  his  whole  life  to  the  work  of 
investigation.  His  knowledge  of  the  phys- 
ical phenomena  of  Spiritualism  and  of  the 

•'*Eusapia   Paladino   and  her  Phenomena/'   p.   283.     Bj 
Hereward  Carrington. 

105 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

trance  communications  received  through 
Mrs.  Piper,  is  said  to  have  been  unrivalled. 
Mrs.  Piper  is  a  remarkable  trance  speaker 
and  automatic  writing  medium,  whose  serv- 
ices have  been  specially  retained  for  several 
years  by  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research 
to  aid  them  in  their  investigations. 

It  is  natural  to  suppose  that  if  it  be  pos- 
sible for  the  dead  to  communicate  with  us, 
that  those  gentlemen  who  had  striven  so 
hard  during  a  considerable  portion  of  their 
lives  to  discover  the  possibility  of  this, 
should,  upon  their  decease,  continue  their 
efforts  from  the  other  side.  There  is  nat- 
urally a  peculiar  difl&culty  in  the  case  of  per- 
sons so  well  known  to  the  workers  in  this 
particular  field,  to  find  the  kind  of  proof 
desired.  With  people  unknown  to  the  me- 
dium, and  sometimes  to  the  sitter,  until  in- 
quiry is  made,  the  task  is  much  more  sim- 
ple. But  when  the  medium  and  sitter  alike 
are  acquainted  with  the  nature  and  abilities 
of  the  spirit-communicator,  the  field  of  evi- 
dence is  considerably  narrowed.  It  is  there- 
fore more  noteworthy  that  notwithstanding 
these  difficulties,  impressive  evidence  of  the 

106 


AUTHENTICATED  CASES 

identity  of  these  personages  has  been  re- 
ceived, as  a  perusal  of  the  ^'Proceedings  of 
the  S.P.E."  will  readily  prove. 

Vol.  XXII.  of  the  '^ Proceedings"  of  the 
English  Society  for  Psychical  Research  con- 
tains the  account  of  an  incident  known  as 
'Hhe  Greek  message,"  which  took  place  in 
1907,  and  which  appears  to  afford  conclusive 
evidence  of  the  continued  existence  of  P. 
W.  H.  Myers  several  years  after  his  decease. 
The  medium,  who  was  wholly  ignorant  of 
Greek,  was  in  a  deep  trance  throughout,  and 
unacquainted  with  the  published  works  of 
Frederic  Myers.  The  words  chosen  for  the 
test  had  been  used  by  Myers  when  living  as 
a  motto  to  a  poem  upon  Tennyson,  being 
there  credited  to  their  author,  Plotinus.  In 
his  famous  work,  ''Human  Personality," 
Myers  had  given  a  translation  of  this  pas- 
sage from  Plotinus.  Their  meaning  is  "even 
heaven  waveless,"  and  they  were  used  by 
Plotinus  to  describe  the  condition  of  calm 
in  nature  most  favourable  to  a  state  of  ec- 
stasy. While  Myers  was  supposed  to  influ- 
ence the  medium  from  the  spirit  side,  the 
entranced  medium  pronounced  the  Greek 

107 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

words  without  any  comment,  except  to  tell 
what  they  suggested. 

It  was  felt  by  the  experimenter  that  if 
the  personality  were  really  Myers  he  should 
give  in  his  answer : 

1.  The  meaning  of  the  words. 

2.  The  name  of  the  author. 

3.  A  reference  to  Myers'  book,  ** Hu- 

man Personality,"  where  the 
words    were    translated. 

4.  A  reference  to  Tennyson,  since  it  was 

as  a  motto  to  a  poem  on  Tennyson 
that  Myers  had  quoted  the  words. 

5.  Possibly  a  reference  to  Tennyson's 

poem,  ^^ Crossing  the  Bar,"  which 
it  was  thought  suggested  the 
motto. 

Although  this  was  asking  a  very  great 
deal,  the  alleged  Myers  accepted  the  chal- 
lenge ;  and  as  if  to  make  the  test  more  con- 
vincing, gave  a  large  part  of  his  answer, 
not  to  the  deviser  of  the  test,  but  to  another 
person,  almost  ignorant  of  the  nature  of  the 
experiment. 

108 


AUTHENTICATED  CASES 

All  that  was  asked  for  and  much  more  of 
an  equally  evidential  nature  was  given 
through  Mrs.  Piper,  without  any  help  what- 
soever. What  more  could  be  expected  as 
proof  of  identity  ?  Try  as  one  will,  the  only 
explanation  that  can  meet  these  facts  is  the 
Spiritualistic  one.  **The  alleged  spirit  of 
Myers  did  all  that  could  have  been  expected 
of  the  living  Myers,"  even  to  mentioning 
every  association  the  Greek  words  in  ques- 
tion were  thought  likely  to  suggest.* 

The  communications  from  George  Pelham 
may  now  be  almost  regarded  as  classical  in- 
stances of  authenticated  spirit-intercourse. 
No  comment  on  them  is  necessary.  Many  of 
them  seem  to  be  nothing  less  than  plain, 
straightforward  evidences  of  the  survival  of 
bodily  death. 

George  Pelham  (the  name  is  assumed) 
was  a  young  American  author  and  lawyer, 
well-known  to  Professor  Richard  Hodgson ; 
and  it  was,  indeed,  this  case  that  con- 
vinced the  ** arch-sceptic,"  as  Dr.  Hodgson 
has  been  called,  of  the  survival  of  bodily 
death.    Pelham  died  suddenly,  as  the  result 

♦See  alao  '* Light/ »  Vol.  38,  No.  1,  937,  1918. 

109 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

of  an  accident,  in  February,  1892.  He  and 
Hodgson  had  had  long  talks  on  philosoph- 
ical subjects,  and  had  discussed  the  possibil- 
ity of  a  future  life,  which  Pelham  held  to  be 
incredible  and  inconceivable.  Four  years 
before  his  death  he  had  had  a  single  sitting 
with  Mrs.  Piper,  his  name  being  carefully 
concealed  from  her,  and  there  is  no  reason 
to  suppose  she  knew  of  the  existence  of  any 
such  person.  A  few  weeks  after  his  death 
George  Pelham  purported  to  communicate 
with  a  friend  of  his,  John  Hart  (assumed 
name),  who  was  having  a  sitting  with  Mrs. 
Piper.  He  recognised  his  own  stud  which 
the  sitter  was  wearing,  and  correctly  stated 
how  he  came  into  possession  of  it.  He  men- 
tioned two  intimate  friends,  James  and 
Mary  Howard,  and  gave  a  message  to  Kath- 
erine  (their  daughter):  '^Tell  her,  she'll 
know.  I  will  solve  the  problems,  Kath- 
erine."  Mr.  Howard  explained,  in  reference 
to  this,  that  Pelham,  when  he  last  stayed 
with  them,  had  had  frequent  talks  with 
Katherine  on  the  great  problems  of  exist- 
ence, and  had  promised  her,  in  almost  the 

110 


AUTHENTICATED  CASES 

words  of  his  spirit-message,  that  some  time 
he  would  solve  them. 

At  a  sitting  some  months  later  at  which 
were  present  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Howard  and 
(part  of  the  time)  their  daughter  Kath- 
erine,  and  a  reporter,  the  following  evidence 
was  forthcoming : 

(^^Phinuit"  is  the  name  given  by  the  in- 
telligence who  sometimes  used  the  organism 
of  Mrs.  Piper  for  the  purpose  of  conveying 
messages  purporting  to  come  from  the 
spirit- world  to  the  sitters.) 

Phinuit:  He  [George  Pelham]  has  been 
to  see  his  father,  and  he  has  seen,  he  has 
taken  a  book  and  carried  it  to  have  it 
printed.  [His  father  had  collected  his  poems 
and  had  them  printed  in  a  small  volume, 
which  appeared  just  before  the  first  sitting 
of  this  series.] 

During  the  early  part  of  the  sitting,  Kath- 
erine  entered  the  room  and  sat  down  in  a 
remote  corner.  Almost  immediately  Phinuit 
said:  **  ^He  wants  to  see  who  is  Katrine.'  " 
Katherine  comes  over,  and  Gr.  P.  takes  con- 
trol of  the  voice,  and  personal  greetings  fol- 
low. Recognition  of  dress,  also  of  shawl, 

lU 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

which  was  asked  for,  and  which  was  placed 
over  Mrs.  Piper's  shoulders. 

''What  is  it  takes  me  to  Paris?"  [The 
shawl  had  been  worn  in  Paris  frequently 
during  a  year,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  sup- 
pose that  Gr.  P.,  living,  was  aware  of  this.] 

''G.  P.  inquired  what  had  been  done  with 
a  special  picture  which  he  had  owned. 

Mrs.  H.:  'That  got  torn  up  after  you 
passed  out,  but  here  is  a  picture  that  I  don't 
know  whether  you  will  recognise,  but  you 
used  to  know  the  place.'  [G.  P.  puts  picture 
on  top  of  the  head.] 

G.  P. :  'What  is  this?  This  is  your  sum- 
mer house.' 

Mrs.  H.:  'Yes,  you  have  got  it  right.' 

G.  P. :  'But  I  have  forgotten  the  name  of 
the  town.' 

Mrs.  H.:  'Don't  you  remember  D ?' 

G.  P.:  'Oh,  the  little  brick  house  and  the 
little  vine,  grape-vine  some  call  them.  Yes, 
I  remember  it  all;  it  comes  back  as  dis- 
tinctly as  the  daylight.  Where  is  the  little 
out-house?'  [All  correct.  The  little  hen- 
house that,  like  the  house  itself,  was  solidly 
b\;iilt  of  brick,  just  did  not  come  into  the 

112 


AUTHENTICATED  CASES 

picture,  but  came  to  the  very  edge  of  it,  so 
it  was  natural  for  George  to  ask  where  it 
was.  The  grape-vine  that  covered  the  whole 
house  up  to  the  roof  was  a  striking  feature 
of  it.— K.] 

Mrs.  H. :  *  There  is  the  painting'  [handing 
another  picture]. 

G.  P. :  ^No,  I  have  no  recollection  of  that.' 

Mrs.  H. :  ^No,  I  painted  it  when  you  were 
not  there.    You  never  saw  that.' 

G.  P. :  'It  is  not  fresh  to  me  all;  but  this' 
[fingering  the  photo  of  the  house]  4s  very 
clear.    Katherine. ' 

Mrs.  H.:  *She  remembers  that,  too.' 

G.  P.:  'She  was  a  little  thing.  Then  you 
bought  a  place  at  some  ville/  [Katherine 's 

age  when  we  left  D was  six,  nearly 

seven.  We  first  bought  the  place  at  X — 
ville  in  1886.]  'Further  references  to  per- 
sonal incidents  at  D ' 

'Katherine,  how  is  the  violin'?'  (She  plays 
the  violin.)  'To  hear  you  playing  it  is  hor- 
rible, horrible.' 

Mrs.  H.:  'But  don't  you  see  she  likes  her 
music  because  it  is  the  best  she  has?' 

G.  P. :  'No,  but  that  is  what  I  used  to  say, 
113 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

that  it  is  horrible.'  [George  was  always 
more  or  less  annoyed  by  hearing  Katherine 
practise  when  she  was  beginning  the  violin 
as  a  little  child. — ^K.] 

G.  P.:  [A  basket  put  into  G.  P.'s  hand, 
which  he  had  given  as  a  Christmas  present.] 
*  That  is  mine.  Where  is  my  lamp  arrange- 
ment? I  was  very  fond  of  that,  you  know.' 
[He  had  also  expressly  got  a  small  light 
shade  that  could  be  moved  round  the  shade 
of  an  ordinary  lamp  to  cut  off  the  light  from 
the  eye,  and  he  had  used  this  much  when 
living.  He  had  made  other  references  to 
this  in  previous  sittings.] 

Mrs.  H.:  'I  want  you  to  see  that'  [hand- 
ing a  paper], 

G.  P.:  ^You  wrote  that  to  me  this  morn- 
ing.' [It  was  a  poem  on  death,  written  that 
morning  with  G.  P.  in  mind,  but  no  refer- 
ence to  G.  P.  in  it.]  [Another  paper 
handed.]  *That  is  a  letter  that  is  mine. 
That  is  my  own,  but  that  was  written  a  long 
time  ago.'  [Correct.  A  letter  of  his  written 
many  years  before.]  *Give  my  regards  to 
James  Peirce.  Tell  him  I  could  not  speak 
to  him,  but  I  will  again,  and  when  you  dine 

114 


AUTHENTICATED  CASES 

with  him,  think  of  me.'  [George  occasion- 
ally dined  at  the  house  of  James  Peirce  in 
company  with  Mr.  Howard.] 

Mr.  H. :  'George,  do  you  know  who  this  is 
from?'  [handing  an  unopened  newspaper 
enclosed  in  a  wrapper  as  if  just  received  in 
the  mail]. 

After  saying,  *  Where  is  John  Hart?'  G. 
P.  correctly  stated  that  the  newspaper  came 
from  Orenberg;  then  to  Mr.  Howard  he 
said,  'Get  the  long  pipe  and  smoke.'  [Mr. 
Howard  was  in  the  habit  of  smoking  a  long 
pipe  in  the  evening.]"* 

The  ''Honolulu"  incident,  recorded  by  Sir 
Oliver  Lodge  in  his  book,  "Raymond,  or 
Life  and  Death,"  is  excellent  evidence  of 
the  continued  existence  of  his  son,  Ray- 
mond, who  was  killed  in  the  attack  on 
Hooge  Hill,  14th  September,  1915. 

It  happened  that  a  son  and  daughter  of 
the  famous  physicist  were  going  through 
London  on  their  way  to  the  South  of  Eng- 
land, on  Friday,  26th  May,  1916,  and  had 
arranged  to  have  a  sitting  with  a  medium — 
Mrs.  Leonard — about  noon.    At  noon  of  the 

•"Proceedings'*  S.P.E.  Vol.  XIII. 

115 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

same  day,  it  occurred  to  another  of  Sir  Oli- 
ver's sons  to  hold  an  impromptu  seance; 
and  for  this  purpose  he  obtained  the  assist- 
ance of  two  of  his  sisters.  Together  they 
had  a  short  sitting  at  a  table  at  their  home 
in  Birmingham.  Knowing  their  brother 
and  sister  were  having  a  sitting  in  London 
simultaneously,  they  asked  Raymond  to  give 
their  love  to  them  and  try  to  get  the  mediimi 
to  say  ** Honolulu."  The  London  sitters 
knew  absolutely  nothing  of  this.  Notes  were 
carefully  taken  of  both  seances,  and  they 
were  afterwards  compared.  It  was  then 
found  that  the  word  *' Honolulu"  had  been 
got  successfully  through  the  medium  in  Lon- 
don.   Thus : 

The  medium,  speaking  to  one  of  the  sit- 
ters, said:  ^^You  could  play." 

K  M.  L.:**Play  what?" 

**Not  a  game,  a  music." 

N.  M.  L.:  *^I  am  afraid  I  can't,  Ray- 
mond." 

Feda  (medium),  sotto  voce:  **She  can't 
do  that."  **He  wanted  to  know  whether 
you  could  play  *Hulu-Honolulu.'  Well, 
can't  you  try  to?    He  is  rolling  with  laugh- 

116 


AUTHENTICATED  CASES 

ter"  [meaning  that  he's  pleased  about  some- 
thing].* 

Such  messages  as  this  led  Sir  Oliver  to 
assert  that  ^Hhe  foundation  of  the  atomic 
theory  in  chemistry  is  to  him  no  stronger" 
than  evidence  for  spirit  intercourse.  They 
broke  for  him  the  back  of  all  legitimate  and 
reasonable  scepticism.  Although  to  many 
of  the  readers  of  his  book  the  facts  which 
are  such  decided  proofs  to  Sir  Oliver  Lodge 
may  not  have  the  same  compelling  force. 
That  must,  of  course,  often  be  the  case  where 
spirit  identity  is  concerned.  The  evidence 
must  frequently  be  so  delicate  that  only 
those  who  knew  the  communicating  spirit 
can  appreciate  its  real  value.  In  instances 
like  the  *^ Honolulu  case,"  however — which 
word  curiously  was  associated  with  music, 
a  song — the  facts  seem  perfectly  clear  and 
convincing.  If  Raymond  still  lived  and 
could  from  his  new  life  communicate  with 
his  relations,  and  was  as  interested  in  prov- 
ing this  as  he  appears  to  have  been,  it  is  only 
to  be  expected  he  would  endeavour  to  con- 

*'*Eaymond,  or  Life  and  Death,"  pp.  271-2,  274.  By 
Sir  Oliver  Lodge. 

117 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

vey  this  word  to  his  brother  and  sister  in 
London.  Any  other  conclusion  confuses  the 
whole  matter  and  makes  the  explanation  of 
it  a  mere  assumption.  In  this  instance — 
considering  the  cumulative  evidence  con- 
tained in  the  book  of  Raymond's  ability  to 
communicate — the  -simplest  explanation  is 
undoubtedly  the  correct  one. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  in  all  the  preceding 
cases  of  identity  mentioned,  there  has  been 
no  effort  to  depart  from  plain  matter-of- 
fact  proof.  There  is  indeed  no  more  valua- 
ble evidence  than  that  kind.  It  is  a  fruitful 
cause  for  complaint  among  critics  that  Spir- 
itualism gives  no  evidence  of  an  exalted 
character.  Such  a  complaint  has  no  mean- 
ing. The  first  aim  of  any  spirit  anxious  to 
prove  its  identity  is  necessarily  an  appeal 
to  personal  facts.  A  disquisition  on  Immor- 
tality or  the  existence  of  God  may  be  very 
beautiful  and  inspiring,  and  thought-pro- 
voking, but  it  is  not  necessarily  evidence.  In 
that  respect  it  would  be  without  significance 
to  the  average  individual  who  passes  into 
the  Great  Beyond.  Usually  in  life  he  has 
shown  no  taste  or  ability  for  such  intricate 

118 


AUTHENTICATED  CASES 

discussions.  But  the  fact  that  he  had  a  cer- 
tain appearance,  or  some  personal  peculiar- 
ity, or  love  for  some  particular  thing  or  a 
name,  stands  for  much.  Let  it  be  repeated : 
it  is  the  small  things  that  count  as  proof 
very  often  in  communications. 

Apart  from  evidence  of  identity  pure  and 
simple,  much  of  an  exalted  and  enlightening 
nature  regarding  great  problems  has  been 
received  from  these  same  sources;  but  to 
discuss  them  here  would  take  us  too  far 
afield. 


119 


CHAPTER  VI 

MEDIUMS  TKUE  AND  FALSE 

Mediumship  the  foundation  of  Spiritualism;  importance  of 
mediums;  mediumship  helps  to  co-ordinate  history;  reveals 
new  aspects  of  natural  law;  Spiritualism  meets  material- 
ists on  their  own  grounds;  defects  of  mediumship;  influ- 
ence of  mental  and  emotional  states  on  mediumship; 
universal  influences  against  mediumship;  psychology  of 
mediumship;  mediums  blamed  for  failures;  the  insta- 
bility of  psychology;  the  influence  of  ''association  of 
ideas";  danger  of  hasty  conclusions;  the  influence  of  the 
subconsciousness;  Spiritualists  allow  for  this;  medium- 
ship  and  the  law;  the  law  needs  modifying. 

Mediumship  is  the  foundation  of  Modern 
Spiritualism.  Without  the  one  the  other 
could  never  have  been.  Mediums  are  some- 
times called  ** psychics,"  or  "sensitives."  It 
is  as  well  to  fix  these  facts  in  mind  if  a 
proper  appreciation  of  mediumship  in  rela- 
tion to  this  important  subject  is  to  be  ob- 
tained. Few  people  have  been  more  ad- 
versely criticised  than  this  community.  Re- 
ligious folk  have  long  been  in  the  habit  of 

120 


MEDIUMS  TRUE  AND  FALSE 

regarding  them  as  instruments  of  the  devil 
— consciously  or  unconsciously ;  materialists 
and  sceptics  have  usually  regarded  them  as 
frauds.  All  this  is  gradually  changing ;  but 
there  is  still  much  left  to  be  desired.  The 
tendency  in  the  past  has  been  to  condemn 
mediums  offhand.  In  reality  they  ought  to 
have  been  closely  studied.  They  must  be 
closely  studied  if  a  correct  knowledge  of  the 
laws  governing  psychic  phenomena  is  to  be 
attained. 

Think  what  it  means!  Psychic  phenom- 
ena are  now  recognised  facts ;  even  the  ene- 
mies of  Spiritualism  admit  that.  Supposing 
these  wonderful  happenings  are  not  brought 
about  by  the  action  of  disembodied  spirits, 
even  then  new  and  wonderful  aspects  of  nat- 
ural law  have  undoubtedly  been  brought  to 
light  through  the  agency  of  psychics.  ''Mod- 
ern Miracles"  is  what  one  great  scientist  has 
tentatively  called  psychic  phenomena.  If 
mediums  have  done  nothing  else,  they  have 
made  it  possible  to  bring  into  the  realm  of 
history  and  co-ordinate  vast  numbers  of  in- 
teresting facts  which  hitherto  have  found  no 
fitting  place,  and  have  therefore  been  left 

121 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

severely  alone  by  historians.  What  else 
could  historians  do,  since  they  disbelieved  in 
the  possibility  of  a  violation  of  known  nat- 
ural laws  ?  From  their  point  of  view  these 
strange  things  could  not  happen;  yet  they 
have  often  been  testified  to  by  numerous  and 
unimpeachable  witnesses.  If  evidence 
stands  for  anything,  those  ancient  marvels 
must  have  happened. 

These  new  aspects  of  natural  law  may  yet 
prove  far  more  valuable  to  humanity  than 
any  yet  known.  The  lifting  of  heavy  ob- 
jects without  visible  means,  the  passing  of 
matter  through  matter,  the  carriage  of  ob- 
jects— often  of  considerable  weight — great 
distances  almost  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye, 
all  obviously  brought  about  under  intelli- 
gent control,  are  facts  inconceivably  valua- 
ble. The  ability  to  see  what  is  happening  at 
a  distance,  to  discover  lost  objects,  to  com- 
municate directly  from  mind  to  mind,  sur- 
pass in  their  possibilities  such  immensely 
important  discoveries  as  the  telephone  and 
wireless  telegraphy. 

Should  psychic  phenomena  prove  the  ex- 
istence of  a  spirit  world  and  the  continuity 

122 


MEDIUMS  TRUE  AND  FALSE 

of  life  after  death,  even  greater  service  will 
have  been  done  mankind.  Light  will  be 
thrown  upon  the  most  obscure  of  all  sub- 
jects, at  a  time  when  faith  is  no  longer  capa- 
ble of  satisfying  thinking  people.  One  of 
the  most  terrible  effects  of  the  great  war  will 
be  eliminated,  and  perhaps  grief  will  give 
way  to  joy.  Now  the  Modern  Spiritualist  is 
already  convinced  regarding  this  supreme 
matter,  and  confident  that  an  impartial  trial 
of  his  claims  will  result  in  convincing  every 
unbiased  person.  It  is  certain  that  all  those 
who  have  thought  about  a  future  life,  apart 
from  Modern  Spiritualism  and  kindred 
movements,  have  had  to  admit  they  know 
nothing  about  it,  other  than  what  is  mani- 
festly foolish  and  contradictory.  Each 
great  religion  gives  out  different  teachings 
on  this  all-important  subject,  and  even 
within  the  same  religion  glaring  contradic- 
tions exist.  The  declaration  that  reason  is 
no  measure  of  revelation  is  now  believed  by 
a  great  number  of  thoughtful  individuals  to 
be  a  cunningly  designed  means  of  prevent- 
ing priestly  ignorance  and  error  from  being 
seen  in  their  true  perspective.     The  old 

123 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISMS 

methods  are  giving  way  to  more  rational 
processes,  and  we  may  be  quite  sure  that  if 
there  can  be  obtained  no  evidence  of  an  after 
life,  no  clerical  institution,  however  venera- 
ble, can  hope  to  stem  the  tide  of  materialism. 
Spiritualism,  on  the  contrary,  meets  the  ma- 
terialist on  his  own  ground,  invites  him  to 
apply  his  own  principles  of  inquiry,  and 
from  the  result  thereby  obtained  to  draw 
his  own  conclusions.  Most  Spiritualists 
have  done  this  with  beneficial  consequences 
to  themselves  and  true  religion.  In  every 
case  the  sensitive  has  been  the  all-important 
factor,  for  without  the  remarkable  powers 
of  these  unusual  individuals,  psychic  phe- 
nomena would  be  unattainable. 

Mediumship  appears  to  have  no  special 
relation  to  age,  sex  or  class.  Some  splendid 
psychics  are  to  be  found  among  the  ^^  upper 
ten,"  as  well  as  among  all  the  other  ranks  of 
Society.  There  are  far  more  developed  me- 
diums than  are  commonly  heard  of.  This  is 
not  surprising,  considering  how  unpopular 
the  subject  has  hitherto  been.  No  doubt  the 
rapid  change  now  taking  place  in  public 

124 


MEDIUMS  TRUE  AND  FALSE 

opinion  will  make  psychics  more  inclined  to 
reveal  themselves. 

The  exact  nature  of  mediiunship  promises 
long  to  remain  a  mystery.  Beyond  the  dis- 
covery that  a  *^ magnetism''  or  ^* fluid,"  and 
sometimes  even  physical  substance  itself,  is 
extracted  from  the  sensitive's  body  and 
made  to  produce  certain  physical  manifesta- 
tions ;  and  that  certain  unusual  faculties  of 
feeling,  hearing  and  seeing,  ascribable  to* 
latent  senses  that  will  become  normally 
active  when  man  lives  in  a  higher  and  more 
spiritual  world,  but  which  are  in  part  exer- 
cised here  and  now  by  mediums — nothing 
definite  is  known.  These  faculties  and  mag- 
netic fluids  are  very  susceptible  to  the  op- 
eration of  mental  forces ;  more  particularly 
to  those  exerted  by  the  spirit-people.  A 
good  deal  has  been  said  about  their  respon- 
siveness to  the  thoughts  of  the  medium  and 
the  sitters,  and  a  number  of  instances  can  be 
quoted  which  seem  to  substantiate  the  claim. 

Very  often,  however,  they  can  be  quite  as 
satisfactorily  accounted  for  by  the  Spiritu- 
alistic theory;  but  full  allowance  must  be 
made  for  the  possibility  of  the  interposition 

125 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

of  the  action  of  thought  from  ordinary  peo- 
ple. There  is  undoubtedly  much  evidence 
of  the  remarkable  effect  thoughts  and  emo- 
tions have  upon  all  phases  of  psychic  phe- 
nomena. This  is  one  t)f  the  greatest  diffi- 
culties to  be  faced.  As  a  rule,  powerful 
thoughts  of  any  kind  hinder  rather  than  help 
the  proceedings.  Passivity  of  mind  is  al- 
most essential  for  the  attainment  of  the  best 
results  in  the  seance-room.  That  is  why  a 
medium  has  been  defined  as  a  person  who  is 
constitutionally  sensitive  or  susceptible  to 
** influences,"  and  who  responds  more  or  less 
readily  to  the  dominant  thoughts  or  im- 
pulses that  impinge  upon  his  own  **aura"  or 
^* magnetic  sphere."*  But  he  is  mainly  un- 
der the  influence  of  disembodied  beings. 
These  influences  act  collectively  as  well  as 
singly,  and  this  conveys  an  idea  of  the  dis- 
abilities under  which  mediums  inevitably 
labour  to-day. 

Most  of  the  people  who  investigate  Spir- 
itualism are  at  first  almost  invariably  sub- 
ject to  powerful  opposition  to  it  from  within 

**'A  Guide  to  Mediumship/*  By  E.  W.  and  M.  H.  Wallis, 
p.  103. 

126 


MEDIUMS  TRUE  AND  FALSE 

themselves.  They  either  do  not  l)elieve,  or 
they  are  nervous  or  fearful.  Very  often 
they  are  in  deep  distress.  All  these  condi- 
tions hinder  psychic  work,  particularly  the 
latter,  and  in  each  instance  the  sitter  con- 
duces to  the  defeat  of  his  own  ends.  It  is  a 
common  thing  for  the  imseen  communica- 
tors to  plead  with  sitters  to  be  '4ess  tense," 
on  the  ground  that  tenseness  in  any  form 
makes  communication  more  difficult.  A 
bright,  cheerful,  friendly  attitude  is  always 
best.  This  is,  of  course,  hardly  to  be  ex- 
pected from  those  who  are  sceptical  and  in- 
tent on  discovering  the  truth.  The  very 
request  is  usually  regarded  as  an  effor^  n 
the  medium's  part  to  weaken  the  c'  .orving 
power  of  the  inquirer,  or  to  make  him  be- 
come credulous.  Needless  to  say,  a  friendly, 
cheerful  attitude  is  quite  compatible  with 
keen  observation  and  sound  judgment;  but 
anything  that  savours  of  ^* special  pleading" 
in  this  matter  is  usually  regarded  as  proof 
of  weakness  and  dishonesty.  Yet  none  of 
these  requests  is  incompatible  with  science. 
The  necessity  of  respecting  conditions  is 
well  recognised  in  chemistry,  for  instance. 

127 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

The  production  of  any  desired  result  de- 
pends upon  obedience  to  the  laws  governing 
it.  No  intelligent  person  would  venture  to 
prescribe  his  own  laws.  What  he  does  is  to 
endeavour  to  discover  nature's  laws  and  put 
them  into  operation.  Psychic  science  is  no 
exception  to  the  rule ;  but  because  such  sub- 
tle influences  as  mental  and  emotional  forces 
enter  largely  into  it,  the  casual,  and  often 
very  illogical,  critic  condemns  it. 

If  these  conditions  were  extended  over 
the  entire  legitimate  field  influencing 
psychical  research,  almost  the  whole  of  mod- 
ern life  would  be  impeached.  The  mental 
£  "^  emotional  forces  of  civilisation  are,  with 
few  e.-  options,  quite  against  Spiritualism 
in  its  broadest  sense,  and  mediumship  is 
thereby  greatly  retarded.  The  inherent  ma- 
terialism of  the  age  touches  every  phase  of 
life.  The  last  two  centuries  have  witnessed 
a  remarkable  development  of  commercial 
and  industrial  activities,  and  they  have 
turned  the  thoughts  of  nearly  the  whole 
world  almost  exclusively  to  temporal  gain. 
The  early  seventies  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury were  recognised  as  the  high-water  mark 

128 


MEDIUMS  TRUE  AND  FALSE 

of  scientific  materialism,  with  its  depressing 
reaction  upon  philosophy  and  religion,  and 
its  influence  is  still  severely  felt.  Perhaps 
no  greater  indictment  from  a  religious  point 
of  view  can  be  passed  on  the  non-spiritual 
trend  of  the  age  than  to  remark  upon  the 
deplorable  fact  that  the  highest  honours 
have  been  almost  invariably  conferred  on 
financiers  and  people  of  purely  materialistic 
tastes.  Whether  this  be  in  itself  good  or 
bad,  its  influence  upon  spirit  intercourse  has 
raised  tremendous  barriers  and  has  often 
unintentionally  involved  mediumship  in 
great  difficulties. 

The  psychological  aspect  of  mediumship, 
even  from  this  point  of  view,  therefore, 
leaves  much  to  be  desired  and  discovered. 
It  often  unaccountably  breaks  down  and  the 
blame,  almost  without  exception,  is  laid 
upon  the  psychic ;  the  assumption  being  that 
if  he  were  genuine,  failures  could  not  hap- 
pen. We  ought  to  judge  with  caution  here. 
Normal  psychology,  whose  special  function 
it  is  to  deal  with  the  conscious  states  of  the 
ordinary,  everyday  individual,  is  in  a  very 
undeveloped     state.       Great     schools     of 

129 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

thought  differ  on  most  obvious  and  pro- 
found points.  There  are  eminent  thinkers 
who  stake  the  whole  of  their  arguments 
upon  the  assertion  that  man  has  no  free 
will ;  others  take  just  as  vehemently  the  op- 
posite point  of  view.  The  dictum  of  one  of 
the  greatest  of  modern  psychologists,  the 
late  Professor  William  James,  was  that  psy- 
chology is  particularly  fragile,  and  not  even 
a  science,  but  only  the  hope  of  a  science.  Its 
data,  he  declared,  must  be  reconsidered  in 
wider  connections  and  other  terms!*  This 
is  nothing  more  than  a  candid  confession 
that  ordinary  mental  states  are  at  present 
beyond  our  power  of  comprehension.  It  is 
therefore  not  too  much  to  ask,  that  before 
anyone  attempts  to  investigate  and  criticise 
the  abnormal  mental  conditions  always  in- 
volved in  the  exercise  of  genuine  psychic 
powers,  that  some  attention  should  be  paid 
to  this  aspect  of  the  subject. 

Now  let  us  observe  the  psychic  in  one  or 
two  of  his  modes  of  functioning.  In  many 
cases  of  clairvoyance  the  medium  is  per- 
fectly conscious.  Like  the  sitter,  he  has  men- 

* *^Text  Book  of  Psychology/'  p.  468.    By  W.  James. 

130 


MEDIUMS  TRUE  AND  FALSE 

tal  and  emotional  experiences.  His  task  is 
to  get  into  touch  with  the  unseen  world  and 
to  give  proof  of  the  fact.  He  has  the  power 
of  seeing  invisible  objects ;  and  he  can  at  will 
very  often  bring  it  successfully  into  opera- 
tion. But  he  has  usually  no  control  what- 
ever over  the  things  he  may  happen  to  see. 
His  peculiar  vision  does  not  enable  him  in 
most  instances  to  see  into  the  spirit-world, 
but  into  conditions  of  matter  that  exist  in  an 
intermediary  realm  between  this  world  and 
that.  It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that  before 
he  can  describe  a  spirit  form,  it  must  first  be 
made  to  appear  by  the  intelligence  desiring 
to  manifest  itself ;  but  before  the  spirit  can 
accomplish  this  it  must  have : 

1.  Sufficient  of  the  necessary  kind  of  psy- 

cho-plasm in  which  to  appear. 

2.  Sufficient  skill  to  utilise  the  psycho- 

plasm  for  its  special  purpose. 

This  is  no  easy  thing,  and,  as  one  may 
well  suppose,  it  is  accomplished  with  vary- 
ing results.  Some  idea  of  the  ability  that  is 
required  for  such  a  gigantic  task  can  easily 
be  formed  from  the  remarkable  scientific 

131 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM'? 

evidence  that  is  already  forthcoming  along 
these  lines.  In  cases  of  materialisation,  in 
which  the  densest  kind  of  psycho-plasm  has 
to  be  used,  the  forms  resemble  in  every  way 
ordinary  living  people,  with  flesh,  bone, 
blood,  teeth,  hair,  temperature,  and  so  on. 
Compare  that  phenomenon  with  what  sci- 
ence has  sought  to  accomplish  when  endeav- 
ouring to  produce  life  from  matter.  Scien- 
tists would  be  perfectly  content  to  obtain  the 
lowest  possible  expression  of  life,  mere  spon- 
taneous movement.  The  greatest  learning 
and  skill  have  up  till  the  present  failed  to  do 
this.  What  untold  skill  and  knowledge 
must  therefore  be  necessary  on  the  part  of 
the  spirit  operators  before  they  can  produce 
the  marvellous  manifestations  of  life  they 
so  frequently  make ! 

When  the  form  has  been  built  up  for  the 
medium  to  see,  it  becomes  necessary  for  the 
communicating  entity  to  convey  evidential 
facts  of  its  identity  to  the  medium,  and 
through  him  to  the  sitter,  for  whose  edifica- 
tion it  has  come.  The  first  step  was  difficult. 
It  is  not  inconceivable  that  each  subsequent 
step  will  be  still  more  difficult.    We  have  it 

132 


MEDIUMS  TRUE  AND  FALSE 

on  the  best  testimony  'that  this  is  the  case. 
The  Hodgson,  Myers,  Pelham,  and  numer- 
ous other  controls,  have  frequently  stated 
that  contact  with  denser  states  of  matter, 
compared  with  that  of  their  own  subtle  spir- 
itual condition,  makes  them  *'dull,"  *' for- 
getful," *' sleepy."  Let  us  now  suppose  the 
communication  is  coming  through  fairly 
well.  In  most  instances  spirit  messages, 
during  this  kind  of  seance,  are  transmitted 
by  ^impressions"  or  thought  transference; 
sometimes  by  signs;  and  at  others  symbols 
are  adopted.  Very  frequently  feelings  are 
transmitted  which  are  not  commonly  known 
to  the  psychic.  He  may  therefore  translate 
them  wrongly.  Then  the  association  of  ideas 
is  a  powerful  factor  here,  as  in  almost  every- 
thing else.  The  form  may  resemble  some- 
one whom  the  medium  knows,  and  there  may 
be  set  in  motion  in  his  own  mind  a  train  of 
thoughts  related  to  this  person,  which  may 
shut  out  what  the  communicator  is  trying  to 
convey.  The  psychic,  without  the  least  in- 
tention of  doing  wrong,  may  think  his  own 
thoughts  are  really  conveyed  by  the  spirit 
entity,  and  so  errors  creep  in  inadvertently. 

133 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

This  state  of  affail's  happens  very  fre- 
quently. Thus  a  name,  a  relationship,  or 
the  cause  of  death,  may  be  wrongly  sug- 
gested, and  tend  to  vitiate  the  test  value  of 
the  sitting. 

Facts  such  as  these  naturally  convey  the 
idea  that  mediumship  is  always  more  or  less 
unreliable.  Undoubtedly  it  is  so  to  a  large 
extent ;  but  notwithstanding  these  and  other 
obstacles,  the  most  astounding  and  convinc- 
ing results  are  often  obtained ;  whilst,  on  the 
other  hand,  perfectly  genuine  mediumship 
is  often  made  to  appear  fraudulent. 

No  doubt  a  good  deal  of  imposture  passes 
irrent  as  genuine  mediumship,  and  it  is 
often  difficult  to  discriminate  between  them ; 
and,  in  consequence,  genuine  psychic  powers 
are  sometimes  wrongly  impeached.  Pro- 
found ignorance  of  the  nature  of  psychic 
phenomena  and  immature  judgment,  espe- 
cially in  the  early  days  of  Spiritualism,  have 
also  been  the  cause  of  a  good  deal  of  mis- 
understanding and  condemnation  of  sensi- 
tives. During  recent  years  the  more  quali- 
fied investigators  have  been  literally  startled 
at  the  grievous  mistakes  and  wrong  accusa- 

134 


MEDIUMS  TRUE  AND  FALSE 

tions  levelled  at  psychics  in  earlier  years. 
For  a  long  time,  for  instance,  materialisa- 
tion was  pronounced  by  sincere  investiga- 
tors as  nothing  but  trickery.  The  very  tests 
they  applied  seemed  conclusively  to  prove 
this.  One  method  was  to  mark  surrepti- 
tiously some  part  of  the  supposed  spirit 
body  with  some  coloured  material,  and  after 
the  seance  to  examine  the  medium.  If  the 
mark  was  found  on  him,  he  was  naturally 
considered  a  fraud.  Thus  many  materialis- 
ing mediums  were  discredited.  Sometimes, 
however,  even  in  the  face  of  such  apparently 
overwhelming  evidence,  it  was  realised  this 
could  not  have  been  so.  Perhaps  the  me- 
dium had  been  seen  simultaneously  with  the 
materialised  form ;  or,  having  been  securely 
tied  to  a  chair  by  the  sitters  before  the 
seance,  and  the  knots  carefully  sealed,  at  the 
end  of  the  seance  he  would  be  found  still 
securely  bound  and  sealed.  It  was,  there- 
fore, impossible  for  him  to  have  left  the 
chair  during  the  whole  of  the  proceedings. 
The  solution  to  the  mystery  was  found  when 
it  was  discovered  that  the  substance  com- 
posing the  materialised  form  was  extracted 

135 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM  *? 

from  corresponding  parts  of  the  medium's 
body.  On  the  form  dematerialising,  these 
elements  returned  to  the  psychic's  body,  car- 
rying with  them  the  incriminating  marks. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  results  of  Dr. 
W.  J.  Crawford's  experiments  in  physical 
phenomena,  is  the  heavy  and  varied  reac- 
tions which  occur  with  the  medium,  owing 
to  some  peculiar  condition  of  her  organism 
during  the  period  of  the  phenomena.  It  is 
only  to  be  expected  that  if  movements  take 
place  in  the  medium's  body  synchronising 
with  the  phenomena,  that  the  sceptic  wiU 
regard  them  with  suspicion.  Although  the 
phenomena  may  appear  to  be  quite  discon- 
nected from  the  medium  in  every  way,  these 
movements  will  lead  one  to  suppose  that  the 
medium  is  cunningly  making  them.  That  is 
indeed  what  has  long  been  supposed,  and 
many  mediums  have  suffered  in  conse- 
quence. 

Dr.  Crawford  frequently  noticed  bodily 
reactions  with  Miss  GoUgher;  yet  she  was 
totally  unaware  of  them,  although  quite  con- 
scious during  the  seances.  He  has  watched 
her  sitting  quietly  on  a  chair  in  his  own 

136 


MEDIUMS  TRUE  AND  FALSE 

house,  with  the  light  shining  directly  on  her, 
while  great  sledge-hammer  blows  have  been 
occurring  on  the  floor  several  feet  in  front 
of  her  at  intervals  of  a  few  seconds ;  and  as 
each  blow  was  struck,  he  has  watched  her 
whole  body  from  the  waist  upwards,  sway 
backwards  several  inches.  As  the  blows  be- 
came lighter  and  swifter,  the  character  of 
the  shocks  reacting  on  her  also  changed,  be- 
coming also  lighter  and  swifter — and  finally, 
when  a  fusillade  of  raps  was  being  pro- 
duced, she  was  under  a  regular  bombard- 
ment. He  has  stood  beside  her  and  felt  the 
various  motions  of  her  "body.  Yet  she  was 
so  unconscious  of  them,  that  but  for  the  doc- 
tor's  assurance  she  would  have  disbelieved 
that  they  had  taken  place.  Dr.  Crawford 
points  out  that  there  is  a  danger  that  an  un- 
observant and  unscientific  witness  of  the 
rapping  phenomena  might  uncritically  con- 
clude that  these  motions  of  the  medium's 
body  betokened  fraud.  In  Miss  Goligher's 
case  he  is  absolutely  sure  she  speaks  the 
truth  when  she  says  she  knows  nothing 
about  them.  He,  for  one,  knowing  all  he 
does  about  physical  phenomena,  would  ac- 

137 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

tually  be  surprised  to  see  them  entirely  ab- 
sent ;  for  he  has  demonstrated  that,  although 
these  phenomena  are  under  the  control  of 
disembodied  entities,  they  are  purely  me- 
chanical operations  and  must,  therefore, 
obey  the  laws  of  mechanics.* 

In  all  mental  forms  of  mediumship  allow- 
ance must  be  made  for  the  operations  of  the 
sub-conscious  mind.  No  qualified  Spiritual- 
ist denies  the  possibility  of  this  particularly 
puzzling  and  vague  aspect  of  the  human  con- 
sciousness interposing  in  various  kinds  of 
spirit  communion.  But  to  attribute  to  it  all 
the  phenomena  is  stupid.  Nothing  can  so 
well  serve  the  biassed  critic  as  something 
about  which  so  little  is  known  that  he  may 
speculate  with  impunity  upon  it.  Such  fac- 
tors used  merely  as  destructive  arguments 
may  be  dragged  in  to  explain  anything  the 
person  dislikes.  This  has  been  constantly 
done  in  regard  to  the  subconsciousness  in 
connection  with  Spiritualism,  until  at  last 
there  have  been  credited  to  this  mysterious 
phase  of  our  being,  powers,  so  vast,  that 
those  who  really  know  something  of  its  pos- 

•  The  International  Psychic  Gazette,  September,  1916. 

138 


MEDIUMS  TRUE  AND  FALSE 

sibilities  might  well  stand  aghast.  Its  mar- 
vellous exhibitions  of  supernormal  sight  and 
hearing  and  feeling,  its  occasional  ability  to 
guide  and  warn  and  control,  its  remarkable 
curative  powers  which  may  instantly  banish 
serious  disease,  naturally  lead  us  to  wonder 
what  it  might  be  in  all  its  potency.  But 
after  full  allowance  has  been  made  for  the 
action  of  the  subconscious  mind  in  psychic 
communications,  there  is  still  left  over  a 
mass  of  unexplained  facts.  And  after  all, 
for  test  purposes,  that  is  all  that  concerns 
Spiritualism. 

Indeed,  in  the  hands  of  a  master-mind — 
F.  T/.  H.  Myers — the  powers  of  the  subcon- 
sciousness have  been  demonstrated  as  in 
themselves  sufficient  to  prove  that  man  is 
destined  to  survive  death,  and  that  instead 
of  the  Spiritualist  regarding  it  as  evidence 
against  his  claims,  he  may  justly  regard  it  as 
supporting  them,  after  making  proper  al- 
lowance for  its  activities.* 

Spiritualists  are  fully  aware  that  these 
uncertainties  leave  the  field  open  to  char- 

* ''Human  Personality,''  w.  1  and  2.  By  F.  W.  H.  Myers, 
1903. 

139 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISMS 

latanry  and  do  all  in  their  power  to  over- 
come them.  There  can,  however,  be  little 
doubt  that  a  good  deal  that  has  been  con- 
demned as  fraud  was  genuine  mediumship. 
Many  of  the  best-known  and  most  powerful 
psychics  have  been  denounced  in  this  way; 
and  those  who  have  been  responsible  for  it 
have  been  mostly  inspired  with  bigotry  and 
ignorance. 

The  present  attitude  of  the  law  is  no  cri- 
terion on  the  subject.  There  are  upon  the 
statute  books  of  this  country  certain  laws 
which  can  be  interpreted  as  condemning  all 
forms  of  psychism.  In  the  eyes  of  the  law 
there  seems  to  be  no  such  thing  as  psychic 
phenomena,  and  whoever  exercises  psychic 
gifts  in  any  form  may  be  said  to  come  within 
the  condemnation  of  the  law.  At  one  time 
the  law  legislated  severely  against  occult 
practices,  because,  whilst  recognising  the  ex- 
istence of  psychic  powers,  it  regarded  them 
as  evil.  Communion  with  an  unseen  world 
was  believed  to  be  an  awful  possibility,  but 
whoever  ventured  upon  it  was  regarded 
mainly  as  being  a  danger  to  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  the  State,  and  deserving  of  eter- 

140 


MEDIUMS  TRUE  AND  FALSE 

nal,  as  well  as  of  temporal,  punishment. 
Thus,  it  was  decreed  in  the  Tudor  period 
that  such  malefactors  should  suffer  forfei- 
ture of  property,  the  pains  of  death,  and  the 
loss  of  privilege  of  clergy,  and  sanctuary; 
in  other  words,  damnation  materially  and 
spiritually.  The  ignorant  credulity  of  those 
days  gave  way  in  later  times  to  the  opposite 
extreme.  Act  9,  George  II.,  c.  5,  known  as 
the  Witchcraft  Act,  which  came  into  force 
on  the  24th  June,  1736,  is  the  Act  still  in 
force.  In  reference  to  it  EUis  T.  Powell, 
LL.B.,  D.Sc,  says: 

*'The  new  Act,  therefore,  repeals  the  pen- 
alties enacted  against  what  were  now  re- 
garded as  impossible  offences,  but  goes  on 
to  enact  punishment  for  those  who  pre- 
tended to  exercise  the  discredited  arts,  ^For 
the  more  effectual  preventing  and  punish- 
ing of  any  pretences  to  such  arts  or  pow- 
ers.' "  * 

It  has  always  been  decided  in  cases  of 
offence  against  this  Act,  that  no  such  pow- 
ers as  those  claimed  by  mediums  exist.    A 

*  '  *  Psychic  Science  and  Barbarous  Legislation, '  *  p.  18.  By 
Ellis  T.  Powell,  LL.B.,  D.Sc. 

141 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

more  outstanding  example  of  the  law  oppos- 
ing the  discoveries  of  science  it  would  be 
difficult  to  quote.  Absolutely  no  attenion  is 
paid  by  this  Act  to  the  result  of  the  re- 
searches of  men  like  Sir  William  Crookes, 
Professor  C.  Lombroso,  Sir  Oliver  Lodge, 
Camille  Flammarion,  Professor  William 
James,  Dr.  Venzano,  Dr.  W.  J.  Crawford, 
3ir  Arthur  Conan  Doyle,  and  a  host  of  others 
of  world-wide  repute  as  qualified  observers. 
The  nature  of  the  law  compels  it  to  lag  be- 
hind progression,  and  history  affords  many 
sad  examples  of  the  fact.  In  this  respect 
Spiritualism  may  be  said  to  stand  where  once 
the  Quakers  and  Roman  Catholics  stood  in 
the  eyes  of  the  law. 

A  modification  of  this  unjust  state  of 
things  must  take  place  before  long;  but  in 
the  meantime  Mediumship,  Spiritualism, 
and  Psychic  Science  are  in  an  unenviable 
position.  There  are  indisputably  true  psy- 
chics ;  and  they  are  of  such  value  to  the  fu- 
ture of  the  hiunan  race,  that  Spiritualists 
have  no  hesitation  in  believing  that  the  au- 
thorities wiU  yet  see  fit  to  co-operate  with 

142 


MEDIUMS  TRUE  AND  FALSE 

them  in  carefully  distinguishing  the  real 
from  the  false ;  and  not  always,  as  at  pres- 
ent, ruthlessly  condemn  all  without  discrim- 
ination. 


143 


CHAPTER  VII 


CLAIRVOYANCE  OR  **  CLEAR-SEEING  " 


Seers  in  all  ages  and  climes;  *' second  sight'';  its  symbolical 
nature;  case  mentioned  by  Rev.  Dr.  Stewart;  difference 
between  Highland  seers  and  Spiritualistic  clairvoyants; 
four  well-defined  forms  of  clairvoyance;  true  clairvoyance; 
John  of  Patmos,  Swedenborg;  **etheric  sight";  another 
form  of  ** objective  clairvoyance";  *' subjective  clairvoy- 
ance"; variations  in  size  of  vision;  **  distance"  or  *  trav- 
elling clairvoyance";  clairvoyance  difl&cult  to  develop; 
the  professional  use  of  psychic  gifts;  Sir  Arthur  Conan 
Doyle  and  psychic  phenomena. 

Each  of  the  several  forms  of  mediumsMp 
is  so  interesting  and  important  as  to  require 
a  special  treatise  quite  beyond  the  limits  of 
these  pages.  None  of  them  is  simple,  nor 
have  any  yet  been  fully  explained.  Here  it 
will  be  wise  to  deal  with  one  of  them,  if  only 
for  the  purpose  of  conveying  an  idea  of  the 
scope  and  complexity  of  the  subject.  No 
better  choice  can  be  made  than  the  faculty  of 
clairvoyance,  because  no  other  psychic  gift 
is  so  popular  nor  so  extensively  used.    But 

144 


"CLEAR-SEEING" 

even  this  form  of  mediumship  is  not  yet 
fully  understood,  although  it  has  probably 
received  much  more  attention  than  any 
other. 

No  age  or  race  has  been  without  some  in- 
dividuals who  have  laid  claim  to  the  power 
of  seeing  spiritual  visions;  and  no  religion 
has  been  without  its  seers.  In  the  Primitive 
Christian  Church  a  diversity  of  spiritual 
gifts  was  so  firmly  believed  in  and  sought 
after,  that  the  possession  of  one  or  the  other 
of  them  seems  to  have  been  regarded  as  the 
greatest  of  blessings;  among  them  was  the 
^/discerning  of  spirits."  Popularly  this  has 
come  to  be  known  as  ** second  sight,"  which 
usually,  however,  denotes  the  seeing  of 
events  before  they  come  to  pass.  So  real 
do  many  of  these  visions  appear  to  be,  that 
they  may  at  the  time  be  actually  mistaken 
for  physical  events.  We  hear  most  about 
the  gift  existing  among  the  Celts  of  the 
Highlands  of  Scotland ;  but  it  does  not  seem 
to  be  the  sole  possession  of  any  particular 
people.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  is 
peculiarly  constitutional  among  the  Celtic 
races,  for  among  the  inhabitants  of  Ireland 

145 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

and  Wales  it  is  also  frequently  found.  The 
faculty  is  an  involuntary  one,  and  its  vi- 
sions are  often  symbolical,  sometimes  in  pe- 
culiar and  eerie  ways.  One  of  the  earliest 
references  to  this  kind  of  manifestation  is 
found  in  the  ** Odyssey,''  where  Theoclymi- 
nus  sees  a  shroud  of  mist  about  the  bodies 
of  the  Wooers,  and  drops  of  blood  distill- 
ing from  the  walls  of  the  hall  of  Odysseus. 
The  Pythia  of  Delphi  also  saw  blood  on  the 
walls  during  the  Persian  War.  Similar  ex- 
amples occur  in  the  ancient  Icelandic  Sa- 
gas, showing  their  symbolical  nature.  Mod- 
ern travellers  record  remarkable  facts  con- 
cerning the  existence  of  second  sight  among 
the  Lapps,  Eed  Indians,  Zulus,  Maoris,  and 
many  other  races: 

In  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  the  princi- 
pal symbols  beheld  are  the  shroud,  the 
corpse-candle,  and  other  illuminations;  but 
the  most  common  forms  that  the  visions  take 
are  the  wraith,  fetch,  or  shadowy  self  of 
some  person  soon  to  die,  often  wrapped  in  a 
shroud,  or  attended  with  some  other  of  the 
special  circumstances  of  death  or  burial. 

An  example  of  the  peculiar  nature  of 
146 


"CLEAR-SEEING" 

some  of  these  previsions  is  given  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Stewart,  of  Nether  Lochaber.  One  of 
his  parishioners,  a  woman,  pointed  out  to 
him  a  rock  by  the  sea  which  shone  with  a 
kind  of  phosphorescent  brilliance.  The  doc- 
tor attributed  the  phenomenon  to  decaying 
seaweed ;  but  the  woman  assured  him  that  a 
corpse  would  be  laid  there  on  the  morrow. 
This  actually  occurred.  A  body  was  brought 
in  a  boat  for  burial  and  laid  at  the  foot  of 
the  rock,  where,  as  Dr.  Stewart  found,  there 
was  no  decaying  vegetable  matter.  The  ex- 
act detail  with  which  an  event  yet  to  happen 
is  sometimes  seen  is  astounding.  The  whole 
of  it  is  enacted  before  the  seer  perhaps  days 
before  the  real  event  takes  place.  The  ap- 
pearance of  the  shroud — a  sure  presage  of 
death — also  reveals  the  nearness  or  remote- 
ness of  the  occurrence  by  the  amoimt  of  it 
which  covers  the  body.  If  it  is  not  seen 
above  the  waist  a  twelve-month  may  be 
hoped  for ;  if  higher  towards  the  head,  death 
is  believed  to  be  near  at  hand. 

Second  sight  does  not  appear  to  be  always 
hereditary,  although  in  some  cases  it  seems 
to  have  descended  in  the  family.    There  is, 

147 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

however,  a  persistent  belief  among  the 
Highlanders  that  the  seventh  son  of  the  sev- 
enth son  has  the  gift  naturally.  Although 
the  faculty  is  usually  regarded  as  a  sign  of 
morbidity,  predicting  only  sad  events,  this 
is  not  true.  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson,  who  made 
a  special  study  of  the  subject  during  his 
famous  journey  to  the  Western  Islands  of 
Scotland,  remarks  in  his  ^^ Journal''  that 
happy  events  are  also  foreseen.  Prevision 
is  only  one  of  its  aspects.  "Distance"  or 
"travelling"  clairvoyance  is  frequently  re- 
lated to  it.  "A  man,"  says  the  doctor,  "on 
a  journey  far  from  home  falls  from  his 
horse ;  another  who  is  perhaps  at  work  about 
the  house  sees  him  bleeding  on  the  ground, 
commonly  with  a  landscape  of  the  place 
where  the  accident  befalls  him."  He  also 
objected  to  the  fallacy  that  the  faculty  was 
possessed  by  the  poor  and  illiterate  only,  a 
belief  that  has  given  strength  to  the  suppo- 
sition that  the  visions  are  mere  hallucina- 
tions misunderstood  through  ignorance. 
Frequently  educated  people  are  endowed 
with  the  gift;  and  it  is  regarded  by  many 
who  possess  it  as  an  affliction,  although  seers 

148 


"CLEAR-SEEING" 

are  nearly  always  people  healthy  in  every 
way. 

An  old  idea,  which  has  even  now  a  very 
wide  vogue,  is  that  the  faculty  is  vouchsafed 
only  to  those  eminent  for  holiness,  and  that 
it  is  therefore  truly  spiritual.  But  there  is 
no  reason  to  doubt  that  it  is  often  possessed 
by  quite  ordinary  persons  irrespective  of 
their  dispositions.  A  curious  characteristic 
of  the  sight  is  that  sometimes  it  can  be  trans- 
mitted from  the  seer  to  another  by  physical 
contact ;  whilst  the  vision  may  become  so  ob- 
jective that  all  within  a  certain  radius  may 
see  it  like  any  ordinary  material  object. 

Consideration  of  these  well-known  claims, 
which  have  long  existed  quite  apart  from 
Modern  Spiritualism,  enables  us  to  realise 
that  history,  ancient  and  modern,  confirms 
the  pretensions  of  the  modern  clairvoyant. 

There  is  no  reason  why  a  gift  universal 
and  ancient  should  not  belong  to  any  age; 
nor  does  there  seem  to  be  any  reason  why 
any  particular  race  should  be  excluded  from 
so  singular  a  faculty.  The  principal  differ- 
ence between  the  clairvoyance  of  the  Modern 
Spiritualist  and  that  of,  say,  the  Highland 

149 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISMS 

seers,  is  that  whereas  with  the  Highlanders 
the  gift  is  spontaneous,  with  Spiritualists  it 
is  often  carefully  cultivated.  The  conse- 
quence is  that,  while  the  Highland  seers  are 
totally  ignorant  of  the  nature  and  source  of 
their  visions,  the  modern  clairvoyant  has  at 
least  a  fair  idea  of  their  origin. 

Clairvoyance  is  by  no  means  a  simple  mat- 
ter. It  consists  of  at  least  four  well-defined 
phases,  which,  like  all  other  forms  of  me- 
diumship,  vary  in  degree  both  with  the  in- 
dividual from  time  to  time,  and  in  a  general 
way.  Three  of  these  phases  are  of  practical 
value  and  in  more  or  less  constant  use 
among  clairvoyants.  The  fourth  is  of  a  par- 
ticularly exalted  and  spiritual  character  and 
has  been  experienced  by  a  few  great  mystics 
only.  It  seems  to  a  large  extent  to  be  the 
natural  spiritual  vision  exercised  normally 
by  the  spirit  after  death ;  and  for  the  field  of 
its  operations  depends  largely  upon  a  high 
degree  of  spirituality.  Its  practical  value  is 
to  a  great  extent  destroyed  because  the 
things  revealed  by  it  cannot  be  appreciated 
by  ordinary  people;  although  they  may  be 
of  the  greatest  spiritual  significance.    Nor 

150 


"CLEAR-SEEING" 

can  they  always  be  made  clear,  because  com- 
mon experience  affords  no  analogies  by 
which  they  may  be  illustrated.  Symbology 
is  therefore  resorted  to,  and  to  the  practical 
Western  mind  that  seldom  appeals.  John 
of  Patmos,  Swedenborg,  and  a  few  saints  of 
all  religions  are  outstanding  examples  of 
this  form  of  seership,  which  is  sometimes 
called  ^Hrue  clairvoyance." 

**Etheric  clairvoyance"  is  much  more 
practical  and  widespread,  and  is  doubtless 
capable  of  development  to  a  considerable  de- 
gree. The  title  is  applied  to  it  because  the 
objects  thus  seen  are  obviously  composed  of 
some  physical  substance,  although  of  too  re- 
fined a  nature  for  the  normal  eye  to  see. 
This  substance  is  believed  to  be  etheric ;  but 
whatever  may  be  its  constitution,  clairvoy- 
ants alone  can  become  aware  of  it.  The  light 
rays  which  it  reflects  are  incapable  of  regis- 
tration by  the  parts  of  the  optic  nerve  ordi- 
narily in  use.  They  can,  however,  be  seen 
by  what  must  be  regarded  as  higher  fibres 
of  the  optic  nerves  and  the  cells  of  the  ap- 
propriate brain-centre.  This  can  be  easily 
substantiated  by  the  clairvoyant  closing  his 

151 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

eyes,  thereupon  shutting  out  the  vision,  and 
by  opening  them  and  seeing  it  again.  Some- 
times the  image  remains  long  enough  for 
this  to  be  done  several  times,  demonstrating 
it  to  be  external  to  the  seer.  Were  it  sub- 
jective the  vision  would  be  seen  as  clearly 
with  the  eyes  closed  as  open.  The  average 
ghost  or  *^ spook"  belongs  to  this  order;  that 
is  why  some  persons  see  it  whilst  others  do 
not. 

Btheric  clairvoyance  is  as  active  in  the 
dark  as  in  the  light.  It  is  difficult  to  ac- 
count for  this  unless  on  the  supposition  that 
the  entity  thus  manifesting  brings  an  illumi- 
nation of  its  own,  or  that  even  when  the  sun 
has  set  certain  degrees  of  light  remain  con- 
served in  the  atmosphere.  That  would 
make  it  what  it  is  claimed  to  be,  a  purely 
physical  phenomenon,  arising  from  the 
physical  nature  of  the  substance  used.  That 
human  bemgs  cannot  register  all  the  de- 
grees of  light  known  to  exist  is  shown  in 
many  ways.  The  domestic  cat,  ants,  and 
many  other  animals  see  in  what  is  to  us  dark- 
ness. In  tropical  forests,  where  night  is  in- 
tensely dark  owing  to  the  dense  foliage,  a 

152 


'CLEAR-SEEING" 

vast  and  varied  host  of  animals  and  insects 
awake  to  a  noisy  and  active  existence  during 
that  period.  Without  the  power  to  see  in 
some  way  they  could  not  do  this ;  yet  to  the 
hmnan  being  nothing  is  visible. 

Etheric  clairvoyance  is  only  one  kind  of 
'^objective  clairvoyance."  There  is  another 
form  in  which  no  physical  organ  appears  to 
play  a  part.  The  vision  evidently  belongs  to 
some  other  portion  of  the  human  economy, 
and  by  the  Spiritualist  it  is  ascribed  to  the 
** psychic  body,"  i,e,,  the  organism  in  which 
the  departing  spirit  enters  the  next  world 
at  death;  and  although  in  general  appear- 
ance it  resembles  the  physical  body  at  its 
best  and  healthiest  stage,  its  faculties  are 
much  superior  to,  and  often  very  different 
from,  our  physical  senses.  The  stimulation 
of  these  psychic  faculties  to  their  full  scope 
during  earth-life,  results  in  the  attainment 
of  that  marvellous  and  beautiful  power  of 
clairvoyance  attained  only  by  saints  and 
mystics.  It  may,  however,  be  developed  in 
a  partial  degree ;  then  objects  made  of  finer 
degrees  of  matter  than  those  seen  by  means 
of  the  etheric  sight  can  be  visualised.   As  a 

153 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

rule  the  things  thus  witnessed  appear  far 
more  real  and  vivid  than  physical  objects. 
This  form  of  clairvoyance  is  not  less  prev- 
alent than  the  etheric.  Perhaps  it  is  more 
so.  One  of  its  peculiarities  is  that  almost 
any  part  of  the  physical  body  may  become 
the  centre  from  which  the  faculty  is  func- 
tioned, although  habit  usually  causes  the 
seer  to  relate  it  to  the  region  of  the  eyes. 
This  explanation  is  comparable  with  that 
suggested  by  F.  W.  H.  Myers  to  account 
for  the  remarkable  cases  of  the  transposi- 
tion of  senses,  known  to  science.  The  ex- 
periments of  Professor  Fontain,  of  Toulon, 
with  the  sailor  ''B,''  showed  clearly  that 
when  suffering  from  hysteria  with  attacks 
of  catalepsy,  B's  senses  became  transposed. 
Instead  of  being  able  to  see  with  his  eyes 
he  saw  with  the  tips  of  his  fingers,  whilst 
his  other  senses  were  as  strangely  affected.* 
Lombroso  refers  to  a  similar  case  in  which 
a  young  girl,  during  severe  hysterical  trou- 
bles, lost  the  power  of  seeing  with  her  eyes, 
but  **saw"  with  the  same  degree  of  acute- 

***Hyst6ro-Epilepsie     Masculine/'     Bevtte     PhUosophique, 
August,  1887. 

154 


"CLEAR-SEEING" 

ness  at  the  point  of  the  nose  and  the  lobe 
of  the  left  ear.*  Myers  suggested  ^Hhat  the 
spirit  which  thus  perceives  in  wholly  super- 
normal fashion  may  be  under  the  impres- 
sion that  it  is  perceiving  through  some  cor- 
poreal channel — as  the  knee  or  the  stom- 
ach." t 

^^ Subjective  clairvoyance"  is,  of  course, 
exactly  opposite  in  nature  to  objective  clair- 
voyance, since  it  relates  to  visions  existing 
in  the  mind,  like  creations  of  the  imagina- 
tion. They  appear  to  be  objective  through 
an  action  of  the  mind  similar  to  that  which 
causes  dream  images  to  appear  objective, 
while  all  the  time  they  are  purely  mental 
forms.  Some  people  have  such  lively  imag- 
inations that  they  are  able  to  produce  vivid 
externalised  mental  images  when  fully 
awake.  Goethe  could  do  this  so  effectively 
that  he  could  observe  them  to  be  in  a  state  of 
motion,  as  if  quite  material.  The  visions  of 
subjunctive  clairvoyance  are  not  always  dis- 

*" After  Death— What? '*  Chap.  I.,  pp.  1-5.  By  Cesare 
Lombroso. 

t ''Human  Personality/'  Vol.  1,  p.  192.  By  F.  W.  H. 
Myers. 

155 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

tinct.  They  vary  in  the  same  way  as  mem- 
ory pictures.  Sometimes  they  are  extremely 
clear ;  at  others  they  resemble  those  memory 
pictures  when,  although  nothing  can  be  said 
to  be  seen,  they  are  nevertheless  fully  com- 
prehended. Another  of  the  strange  vicissi- 
tudes to  which  this  form  of  higher  vision  is 
subject,  is  that  the  images  do  not  always 
appear  correct  in  size.  Suppose,  for  exam- 
ple, the  form  of  a  person  thus  appears;  it 
may  do  so  looking  either  much  smaller  or 
much  larger  than  it  ought,  and  we  may  be 
sure,  is  meant  to  be.  The  result  is  the  figure 
of  an  individual  may  be  seen  a  pigmy  in  size, 
or  giant-like!  Strange  as  this  seems,  it  is 
true  that  through  this  faculty  a  person,  to 
all  intents  and  purposes  as  real  and  living 
as  anyone  can  imagine,  may  sometimes  seem 
to  be  only  a  few  inches  in  height,  or  so  large 
as  to  be  difficult  to  wholly  retain  in  the  field 
of  vision. 

An  explanation  of  this  peculiarity  may 
be  found  in  the  circiunstances  which  give 
rise  to  these  visions.  They  are  caused  by  a 
disembodied  entity  wishing  to  make  known 
his  presence — ^but  imable,  or,  perhaps,  unde- 

156 


"CLEAR-SEEING" 

sirous  of  ** building"  in  etheric  or  other  sub- 
stance— conveying  a  mental  image  of  him- 
self to  the  sensitive's  mind.  Thought  trans- 
ference in  all  forms  is  well  established ;  and 
since  it  is  a  fact  among  embodied  people, 
there  is  no  reason  why  the  disembodied 
should  not  be  able  to  exert  it  even  more  suc- 
cessfully, supposing,  of  course,  they  are  able 
to  communicate  with  this  world.  All  that  is 
required  is  a  mind  sufficiently  sensitive  to 
receive  their  thoughts  or  impressions,  and 
that  is  what  the  subjective  clairvoyant  pos- 
sesses. It  is  quite  conceivable  that  com- 
municating entities  should  sometimes  form 
imperfect  images  of  themselves,  hence  the 
peculiar  variations  in  the  visions  mentioned 
above. 

These  peculiarities  render  it  difficult  to 
distinguish  subjective  clairvoyance  from 
** distance"  or  ^ travelling  clairvoyance," 
i,e,,  the  ability  to  see  physical  objects  that 
are  beyond  the  range  of  the  normal  eye. 
They  may  be  behind  a  wall  a  few  feet  away, 
or  at  the  other  side  of  the  world.  Mrs.  Piper 
has  frequently  proved  herself  capable  of  ex- 
ercising this  faculty,  whilst  it  has  always 

157 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

been  one  of  the  favourite  tests  of  mesmerists 
and  hypnotists  when  experimenting  with 
their  subjects.  This  type  of  clairvoyance  is 
excellently  adapted  to  verification.  Prop- 
erly speaking,  it  is  real  '^clear-seeing"  with- 
out necessarily  anything  spiritual  about  it. 
There  are  three  states  of  consciousness  in 
which  it  occurs,  namely,  trance,  semi-trance, 
and  complete  consciousness. 

In  the  trance  state,  the  medium  appears 
to  leave  his  body  and  visit  the  places  and 
objects  seen,  bringing  back  a  vivid  account 
of  all  that  has  taken  place  at  the  distant 
spot.  This  has  often  been  confirmed.  Many 
examples  are  to  be  found  in  the  various 
*' Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  Psychical 
Research."  Some  good  cases  are  recorded 
by  Dr.  Fahnestock,  of  which  the  following 
is  an  instance :  A  gentleman  had  requested 
some  friends  of  his  at  Baltimore  to  place 
something  in  a  particular  place  in  a  certain 
house,  after  he  left  the  City.  The  object 
was  to  see  if  any  of  Dr.  Fahnestock 's  hyp- 
notic subjects  could  discover  it,  although 
they  were  at  Lancaster. 

'^ Subject:  Mrs.  E.  She  had  never  been 
158 


"CLEAR-SEEING" 

in  Baltimore  in  her  life,"  says  Dr.  Fahne- 
stock,  **and  after  she  had  entered  the  [hyp- 
notic] state,  it  was  necessary,  as  I  was  not 
acquainted  with  the  location  of  the  house, 
for  him  to  convey  her  in  thought  to  the  ap- 
pointed place.  Having  done  so,  I  requested 
her  to  describe  the  room,  which  she  did  to 
his  satisfaction;  and  as  the  thing  to  be 
looked  at  was  to  be  at  or  about  the  time- 
piece, I  directed  her  attention  to  it,  and  de- 
sired her  to  look  whether  there  was  anything 
about  the  clock  which  did  not  belong  to  it. 
She  said  she  saw  something  dark  there, 
which  looked  like  a  bottle.  ...  I  desired 
her  ...  to  take  the  article  which  she  before 
described  as  being  a  dark  bottle  into  her 
hands,  and  to  examine  it  minutely,  so  that 
she  could  be  certain  as  to  what  it  really 
was.  After  having  done  so,  she  declared 
that  she  now  saw  it  distinctly,  and  stated 
that  'it  was  a  dark  bottle,  about  the  length 
of  her  index  finger,  and  was  suspended  by 
a  white  string,  tied  about  its  neck;  that  it 
was  empty,  and  had  no  cork.' 

**The  gentleman  left  Lancaster  for  Balti- 
more the  next  day.  ...  He  saw  his  friend. 

159 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

After  he  had  related  the  circumstances,  and 
told  what  the  lady  said,  his  friend  produced 
the  bottle,  which  had  been  suspended  at  the 
time  agreed  upon,  and  which,  to  their  mu- 
tual astonishment,  they  now  saw  she  had 
described  to  the  very  letter."* 

This  phase  of  clairvoyance,  apart  from 
ordinary  hypnosis,  is  usually  experienced  in 
the  conscious  state.  Sometimes  the  distant 
object  may  be  seen  as  if  through  a  pipe  or  a 
tunnel.  There  is  a  teaching  that  a  tube  of 
psychic  matter  is  made  consciously  or  un- 
consciously by  the  medium,  leading  from 
himself  to  the  object  which  is  seen  through 
it.  More  often  the  vision  appears  to  be  im- 
printed on  the  atmosphere  like  a  cinemato- 
graph picture,  or  a  second  picture  thrown 
from  a  magic  lantern  onto  the  corner  of  an- 
other picture  already  on  the  screen ;  the  first 
picture  illustrating  the  ordinary  surround- 
ings of  the  clairvoyant,  the  additional  pic- 
ture the  lision. 

An  excellent  example  of  conscious  dis- 
tance clairvoyance  which  I  was  able  to  ver- 
ify, was  experienced  by  a  lady  living  in 

•"Statuvolism/'  pp.  229-232.     By  Dr.  Fahnestock. 

160 


"CLEAR-SEEING" 

England,  who  saw  her  son  in  America  lying 
ill  in  a  hospital  bed.  She  had  heard  noth- 
ing whatever  of  his  being  ill.  In  answer  to 
a  letter  from  me,  the  son  stated  that  he  was 
at  the  time  of  the  vision  in  a  hospital  in  Los 
Angeles,  California,  suffering  from  a  broken 
thigh,  through  falling  into  the  hold  of  a 
ship.  On  another  occasion,  in  my  presence, 
a  gentleman  saw  a  lady  we  were  expecting  to 
visit  us  that  day,  standing  by  a  table  suffer- 
ing from  biliousness.  He  stated  that  she 
had,  because  of  her  indisposition,  decided 
not  to  fulfil  the  engagement.  A  few  minutes 
later,  however,  he  became  conscious  of  her 
having  recovered,  and  added  that  she  in- 
tended to  come  after  all.  Later  in  the  day  a 
similar  thing  happened,  the  clairvoyant  re- 
marking that  the  lady  had  again  recovered 
and  would  pay  the  promised  visit.  The  time 
in  each  instance  was  carefully  noted;  and 
upon  questioning  the  lady  on  her  arrival^ 
the  facts  recorded  by  the  medium  proved 
correct,  although  on  the  first  occasion  she 
was  over  four  miles  away,  and  on  the  second 
only  a  little  nearer  to  the  house  in  which  the 
visions  were  seen. 

161 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISMS 

There  are  occasionally  strange  variations 
of  time  in  this  and  kindred  phases  of  clair- 
voyance. Sometimes  the  clairvoyant  re- 
cords as  just  happening  what  may  have  al- 
ready taken  place,  or  what  has  yet  to  occur 
— second  sight.  The  time  occupied  in  the 
vision  may  be  considerably  less  than  in  the 
real  event.  In  dreams  we  have  a  similar 
experience;  for  frequently  what  then  hap- 
pens in  a  fraction  of  time  would  take  years 
of  ordinary  life  to  work  out. 

Although  complete  entrancement  does  not 
always  necessitate  leaving  the  body,  it  fre- 
quently does.  St.  Paul's  experience  of  be- 
ing taken  up  to  the  third  heaven,  is  not  in- 
cluded in  this  form  of  clairvoyance ;  but  he 
probably  left  his  physical  body.  There  are 
interesting  records  of  people  who  have 
claimed  to  possess  the  power  of  doing  this  at 
will. 

The  future  promises  to  see  a  considerable 
development  in  all  forms  of  clairvoyance. 
Already  many  are  endeavouring  to  cultivate 
the  gift,  and  in  some  phase  or  another  it  is 
probably  capable  of  development  by  every- 
one.   Should  Spiritualism  wield  the  great 

162 


"CLEAR-SEEING" 

influence  that  appears  to  be  within  its  scope, 
people  will  no  doubt  grow  to  regard  the  un- 
foldment  of  so  wonderful  a  faculty  as  a 
privilege  and  a  duty.  One  is  almost  tempted 
to  predict  that  we  shall  all  become  Spirit- 
ualists then. 

In  most  cases  the  development  of  clair- 
voyance is  not  easy.  Although  it  may  be 
regarded  as  a  ^^gift,"  it  is  one  that  in  the 
vast  majority  of  instances  requires  careful 
cultivation,  and  sometimes  years  of  patient 
endeavour  is  needed  for  the  proper  accom- 
plishment of  the  task.  This  is  an  aspect  of 
the  subject  quite  overlooked  by  the  average 
critic,  who  usually  concludes  that  to  see 
clairvoyantly  must  be  to  those  who  possess 
the  faculty,  as  natural  as  seeing  in  the  ordi- 
nary way.  From  this  erroneous  view  arises 
much  of  the  bitter  opposition  against  the 
professional  use  of  psychic  gifts,  for  what 
applies  to  clairvoyance  applies  equally  to 
all  forms  of  mediumship.  Even  when  fully 
developed,  clairvoyance  is  very  delicate. 
The  least  unpropitious  circiunstance  may 
weaken  it  or  temporarily  destroy  it,  while 
nothing  so  readily  affects  it  harmfully  as  the 

163 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

lack  of  physical  energy.  The  necessity  of 
keeping  in  a  ^*fit  condition"  is  commonplace 
knowledge  among  all  capable  psychics,  and 
so  essential  is  this  that  when  there  has  been 
a  drain  upon  the  health  the  effect  upon  the 
gift  is  so  deleterious  that  the  danger  of  los- 
ing it  has  to  be  faced.  No  doubt  if  ever  me- 
diumship  comes  to  be  regarded  as  of  value 
to  the  best  interests  of  mankind,  precau- 
tions will  be  taken  to  ensure  suitable  con- 
ditions in  which  to  nurture  it,  thus  conform- 
ing to  what  has  hitherto  been  done  for  other 
spiritual  advisers.  In  the  meantime — owing 
to  the  fact  that  Modern  Spiritualism  is  still 
in  its  infancy,  and  mediumship,  in  conse- 
quence, only  partially  recognised — ^the  ex- 
ercise of  psychic  powers  is  left  almost  with- 
out exception  to  the  unaided  individual  me- 
dium, who,  as  a  rule,  can  no  more  afford  to 
give  his  time  and  services  than  the  average 
artist,  singer,  or  clergyman.  Either  the  gifts 
must  be  specialised  or  their  scope  and  power 
greatly  reduced.  All  these  difficulties  should 
be  overcome,  for  they  sink  into  insignifi- 
cance before  the  wonderful  blessings  that 
arise  from  the  use  of  clairvoyance  and  kin- 

164 


"CLEAR-SEEING" 

dred  gifts,  not  least  among  them,  says  the 
Spiritualist,  being  the  definite  knowledge  of 
the  continuity  of  life  and  direct  intercourse 
with  departed  friends.  New  conceptions  of 
the  importance  and  sacredness  of  life  must 
inevitably  arise  from  such  knowledge;  and 
many  of  the  social  and  religious  difficulties 
that  now  harass  mankind  will  then  automat- 
ically disappear.  For,  as  Sir  Arthur  Conan 
Doyle  has  said  of  the  phenomena  of  Spirit- 
ualism : 

*^They  are  a  device  of  the  Great  Designer, 
by  which  public  attention  is  drawn  to  the 
matter.  The  higher  phenomena  have  cer- 
tainly much  to  do  with  religion.  They  are 
the  means  by  which  the  truth  comes  through. 
But  I  may  add  that  the  truths  seem  to  me 
to  commend  themselves  by  their  own  intrin- 
sic worth."* 

*  The  Christian  Commonwealth,  December  5th,  1917. 


165 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  SPIRITTJALISM 

Argument  against  Spiritualism;  Spiritualism  modem  and  an- 
cient; Spiritualism  the  underlying  principle  of  all  relig- 
ions; Hebraism  and  Christianity  originally  believed  in 
psychic  phenomena;  spirit  communion;  many  instances  of 
psychic  phenomena  in  the  Bible;  disastrous  effect  on  re- 
ligion of  the  loss  of  this  belief;  Spiritualism  in  Ancient 
Chaldea,  Egypt,  Eome,  Greece,  etc.;  Ancestor  Worship  in 
ancient  Eome;  in  China;  '* spirit-control "  in  China;  Chi- 
nese philosophical;  Spiritualism  among  primitive  races; 
witchcraft  persecutions;  finis. 

It  has  often  been  urged  as  an  argument 
against  Spiritualism,  that  if  it  were  true  it 
would  have  been  always  known;  so  impor- 
tant a  fact,  long  sought  for  by  mankind, 
could  hardly  have  been  overlooked,  and  once 
found,  would  never  have  been  forgotten. 
Religious  persons  use  this  argument  in  a 
slightly  different  form.  If,  they  say,  God 
had  meant  man  to  communicate  with  the 
world  of  spirits,  everybody  would  have  had 
the  knowledge  and  power  from  the  begin- 

166 


ANTIQUITY  OF  SPIRITUALISM 

ning.  The  common  belief  is,  apparently, 
that  to  be  able  to  hold  intercourse  with  the 
spirit  world  is  quite  a  recent  claim.  Even 
if  that  were  so,  the  argument  would  have 
no  force,  it  would  simply  mean  that  this 
truth  is  in  the  same  category  as  many  other 
truths.  Facts  of  the  highest  significance  are 
constantly  being  brought  to  light  which 
broaden  and  improve  our  general  outlook. 
The  world  has  gone  on  for  ages  believing 
certain  errors,  intensely  ignorant  of  the 
truth.  There  is  probably  no  department  of 
thought  which  cannot  contribute  examples 
of  this.  One  of  the  central  and  most  ele- 
mentary facts  of  astronomy  is  a  case  in 
point.  Up  till  comparatively  modern  times 
the  universal  belief  was  that  the  sun  moved 
round  the  world.  The  struggle  for  the  erad- 
ication of  this  wrong  idea  was  notoriously 
severe,  but  the  result  has  been  most  advan- 
tageous. 

The  fact  is  the  argument  does  not  apply 
to  Spiritualism.  There  is  a  tendency  to  re- 
gard what  has  come  to  be  known  as  Modern 
Spiritualism,  which  originated  in  1848,  as 
original  and  distinct  from  the  much  older 

167 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

Spiritualism  that  has  always  existed.  In 
the  latter  sense,  Spiritualism  is  doubtless 
the  oldest  religious  belief  in  the  world,  for 
the  world  has  never  been  without  its  seers 
and  prophets.  The  pages  of  history,  ancient 
and  modern,  are  literally  full  of  examples 
of  psychic  phenomena ;  and  long  before  man 
learnt  to  write  he  told  of  these  wonderful 
happenings.  No  country,  and  probably  no 
race,  however  small,  has  failed  to  subscribe 
to  this.  It  is,  indeed,  the  underlying  belief 
of  all  great  religions,  existing  and  defunct; 
although  most  of  them  have  departed  from 
this  teaching.  Christianity  and  Hebraism 
are  instances.  A  casual  perusal  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments  cannot  fail  to  show 
striking  psychic  elements  throughout  them. 
Not  one  form  of  psychic  phenomena  com- 
mon to  the  modern  seance-room  appears  to 
have  been  unknown  to  the  writers  of  those 
ancient  documents.  From  full  form  mate- 
rialisations to  the  speaking  with  foreign 
tongues  they  give  account  of  all.  The  gift 
of  prophecy — against  which  the  law  to-day 
so  rigorously  contends — healing,  and  *Hhe 
working  of  miracles,"  are  mentioned  as  evi- 

168 


ANTIQUITY  OF  SPIRITUALISM 

dences  of  spiritual  merit.  In  the  old  dis- 
pensation there  was  a  school  of  the  proph- 
ets; in  the  new,  the  virtual  founder  of 
Christianity — St.  Paul — urges  his  converts 
to  seek  after  psychic  powers.  Christianity 
is  a  wonderful  example  of  how  a  religion  can 
not  only  lose  an  original  belief,  but  even  be- 
come its  persecutor. 

With  the  departure  from  the  knowledge 
of  spirit  intercourse,  religion  has  in  many 
ways  degenerated,  losing  much  of  its  sta- 
bility and  spiritual  influence.  With  the  loss 
of  their  principal  function,  priests  have 
been  obliged  to  seek  new  means  of  retaining 
power.  In  place  of  the  actual  knowledge  of 
survival,  coercion  has  been  largely  adopted. 
For  the  purpose  of  compelling  people  to  ac- 
cept their  creeds,  the  great  religions  have 
linked  themselves  up  with  state  govern- 
ments ;  with  what  unfortunate  consequences 
history  plainly  shows.  Oppression  has  be- 
come one  of  their  most  obvious  character- 
istics, especially  exercised  in  the  past. 
Speaking  of  the  disastrous  decadence  in  the 
original  purpose  for  which  Christianity  was 
established,  one  of  its  own  most  sincere  sup- 

169 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

porters  could  write  in  no  less  vigorous  terms 
of  denunciation  than  as  follows:  *^ Through 
a  great  part  of  its  history  it  has  been  a  too 
constant  enemy  of  freedom.  It  has  been 
over  and  over  again  the  main  support  of 
tyranny ;  over  and  over  again  it  has  conse- 
crated misgovernment,  and  retarded  polit- 
ical and  social  progress;  repeatedly  it  has 
suppressed  truth,  and  entered  into  conspir- 
acy with  error  and  imposture;  and  at  the 
present  day  it  fails  most  in  that  which  its 
Founder  valued  most,  originality;  it  falls 
into  that  vice  which  He  most  earnestly  de- 
nounced, insipidity."* 

A  Church  without  a  vision  can  hardly- 
hope  to  become  anything  else.  That,  at 
least,  is  the  view  of  Modern  Spiritualism, 
which  seeks  to  replace  the  knowledge  of 
practical  spiritual  intercourse,  believing 
thereby  to  make  religion  what  it  has  so  long 
failed  to  be — an  inspiration,  guide,  and  com- 
fort to  the  nations.  Failing  this,  is  there 
any  other  way  of  checking  the  conspicuous 
decline  in  all  forms  of  established  religion 
at  present  taking  place  ? 

*"Ecce  Homo''  (5th  edition).    Preface  XVI. 

170 


ANTIQUITY  OF  SPIRITUALISM 

It  is  unnecessary  to  mention  the  Spirit- 
ualistic beliefs  and  practices  of  all  the  great 
ancient  civilisations.  From  Egypt,  Baby- 
lonia, India,  China,  Chaldea,  Greece,  and 
Eome  has  come  a  constantly  accumulating 
mass  of  evidence  proving  that  all  forms  of 
mediumship  were  exercised  in  connection 
with  their  religions,  and  that  those  who  pos- 
sessed these  gifts  were  held  in  deep  respect, 
often  reverenced.  If  there  was  one  fault 
more  than  another  into  which  these  ancient 
races  fell,  it  was  in  attributing  too  much  to 
the  spirits.  This  is  one  of  the  errors  Mod- 
ern Spiritualism  aspires  to  correct;  for 
Spiritualists  do  not  worship  the  dead.  They 
seek  to  commune  with  them  and  to  learn 
from  them  more  of  the  meaning  and  sacred- 
ness  of  life  and  the  true  worship  of  God. 

Some  of  the  greatest  characters  of  the 
ancient  world  openly  claimed  to  possess 
psychic  powers.  Socrates  in  his  defence  be- 
fore his  judges  in  the  fourth  century  B.C., 
claimed  that  something  **  supernatural  and 
divine"  came  to  him.  **I  have  had  this  since 
a  child,  a  kind  of  voice  coming  to  me."  Nor 
was  his  power  limited  to  this  phase.    In  the 

171 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

Crito  of  Plato  reference  is  made  to  a  previ- 
sion he  had.  Crito  expressed  his  belief  that 
on  the  morrow  the  great  sage's  life  would 
have  to  end,  as  the  ship  that  was  to  take  him 
to  Delos  was  to  arrive  that  day.  Socrates 
said  he  did  not  think  the  ship  would  arrive 
at  the  time  stated,  and  that  he  would  not  die 
before  the  third  day  because,  **A  fair  and 
beautiful  woman,  clad  in  a  white  gown, 
seemed  to  come  to  me  and  call  me,  and  say, 
*0h,  Socrates,  the  third  day  hence  shalt  thou 
fair  Phthitia  reach,'  "  and  the  meaning  of 
this  dream  was  clear  to  him. 

The  ancient  Romans,  who  were  greatly  in- 
fluenced by  the  ancient  Greeks  in  their  reli- 
gious thought,  were  essentially  Spiritual- 
istic. Ancestor  worship,  especially  in  the 
adoration  of  the  Lares  or  Lords,  the  good 
spirits  of  the  dead,  was  probably  the  most 
important  and  universal  of  their  religious 
customs.  To  neglect  this  service  was  to  act 
irreverently  towards  the  departed.  Every 
home  had  its  tutelary  spirit  of  the  family. 
Sometimes,  at  least,  this  important  benefac- 
tor was  conceived  as  being  a  deceased  an- 
cestor and  as  such  was  specially  represented 

172 


ANTIQUITY  OF  SPIRITUALISM 

on  the  family  shrine  in  the  image  of  a  man 
in  wood,  stone,  or  metal.  But  he  was  only 
the  head  of  a  host  of  spiritual  relations  who 
were  believed  to  visit  the  home  from  time 
to  time.  In  addition,  each  man  and  woman 
had  his  or  her  Genius  or  Juno,  a  guardian 
spirit  whose  special  care  was  the  general 
welfare  of  its  charge. 

The  head  of  the  household  and  his  family 
saluted  the  altar  daily  with  morning  prayer 
and  an  offering  from  the  table  after  the 
chief  meal  was  over,  a  portion  of  it  being 
laid  on  the  fire  on  the  hearth,  or  placed  on 
the  table  before  the  shrine.  There  were  at 
least  two  reasons  for  doing  this :  as  a  recog- 
nition of  the  assistance  rendered  by  the  de- 
parted to  the  family ;  and  as  a  symbol  of  the 
fact  that  although  the  invisible  host  could 
not  join  with  them  in  the  meal  at  the  table, 
they  nevertheless  recognised  their  right  to 
do  so. 

The  last  of  the  great  Pagan  Emperors  of 
Rome  affords  an  insight  into  the  existence 
of  psychic  gifts  and  the  production  of  psy- 
chic phenomena  as  practised  in  the  **  inner 
circles"  of  Roman  Paganism.  The  Emperor 

173 


]WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

Julian  is  said  to  have  been  initiated  into  the 
mysteries  of  the  ancient  faith  when  a  young 
man,  and,  in  addition  to  entertaining  the 
most  exalted  conceptions  of  Deity  and  the 
duty  and  spiritual  destiny  of  mankind,  to 
have  been  able  to  hold  direct  intercourse 
with  the  unseen  world.  **By  voluntary 
fasts,"  writes  Edward  Gibbon,  '^he  prepared 
his  senses  and  his  understanding  for  the 
frequent  and  familiar  visits  with  which  he 
was  honoured  by  the  celestial  powers."* 
Libanus,  his  friend,  declares  that  Julian 
lived  in  perpetual  intercourse  with  spiritual 
beings,  who  sometimes  seem  to  have  ap- 
peared to  him  in  materialised  form. 

What  is  known  as  ** ancestor  worship" 
has  never  lost  its  influence  in  the  world. 
The  phrase  is  often  misapplied,  and  no 
doubt  as  the  claims  and  practices  of  Modern 
Spiritualism  become  better  understood,  an- 
thropologists and  those  interested  in  com- 
parative religion  will  realise  this.  Spiritual- 
ists, for  instance,  have  frequently  been  ac- 
cused of  worshipping  the  dead,  when  they 
really  do  not — it  is  an  act  of  which  they  are 

***Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Eoman  Empire/'  Vol.  2,  p.  368. 

174 


ANTIQUITY  OF  SPIRITUALISM 

entirely  guiltless.  To  the  uninformed  the 
mere  suggestion  of  belief  in  spirit  commun- 
ion conjures  up  this  notion  of  worshipping 
the  dead.  No  one  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  psychic  phenomena  appears  among  the 
list  of  so-called  *' authorities"  who  have 
written  upon  the  subject  of  ancestor  wor- 
ship ;  yet  such  a  person  alone  seems  qualified 
to  appreciate  the  attitude  of  mind  associated 
with  a  keen  esteem  for  the  memory  of  those 
who  have  been  loved  and  admired,  and  who 
have  passed  into  the  Great  Beyond. 

The  Chinese  are  notorious  as  *^  ancestor 
worshippers,"  and  almost  every  book  writ- 
ten on  the  Flowery  Land  contains  something 
on  the  subject.  Belief  in  survival  after  death 
and  intercourse  with  the  departed  is  so 
strong  among  the  inhabitants  of  China,  that 
missionaries,  seeking  to  propagate  their  va- 
rious religions  in  that  land,  admit  that  it  is 
hopeless  to  expect  to  eradicate  the  ceremo- 
nies custom  demands  shall  be  paid  to  the 
dead.  No  religion,  indeed,  can  hope  to  sur- 
vive in  China  unless  prepared  to  incorpo- 
rate among  its  principles  these  ancient  prac- 
tices.  Eminent  Christian  missionaries,  f  uUy 

175 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

acquainted  with  the  views  of  the  Chinese  on 
this  and  other  religious  points,  declare  *^  an- 
cestor worship"  to  be  not  only  not  a  vice, 
but  a  virtue ;  and  say  that  Christianity  may 
gain  by  countenancing  it,  because,  they  as- 
sert, the  Chinese  do  not  really  worship  the 
dead,  but  honour  and  respect  them.  Arch- 
deacon Moule  says  that  the  educated  and 
thoughtful  people  of  China  entertain  no  hos- 
tile feeling  towards  Christianity;  but  unless 
Christians  cease  to  make  it  an  indispensable 
condition  of  discipleship  that  a  Chinaman 
shall  abandon  the  ceremonial  and  reverence 
he  believes  to  be  due  to  his  ancestors,  there 
is  little  chance  of  Christianity  flourishing 
among  them.  He  once  informed  an  edu- 
cated Chinese  mandarin — ^who  had  pointed 
out  this  difficulty  to  him — ^that  the  adora- 
tion of  the  dead,  or,  at  any  rate,  the  idea 
that  they  form  an  intermediate  order  be- 
tween God  and  man,  that  they  are  interces- 
sors of  mankind  with  the  Supreme,  and  that 
they  must  be  propitiated  with  sacrifice  and 
offering,  are  altogether  opposed  to  the 
Christian  conceptions.  **Sir,"  rejoined  the 
mandarin  with  emphasis,   **you  are  mis- 

176 


ANTIQUITY  OF  SPIRITUALISM 

taken.  Ancestor  worship  is  not  idolatrous. 
It  has  not  the  high  significance  which  you 
imagine.  It  implies  merely  a  reverential 
and  affectionate  rite  in  memory  of  the  de- 
parted, whom  we  desire  to  serve  in  their  ab- 
sence as  though  they  were  still  present  with 
us. "  *  The  Archdeacon  repeated  this  conver- 
sation to  a  missionary  of  forty  years'  resi- 
dence in  China,  and  this  gentleman  assured 
him  that  this  view  of  ancestral  worship  was 
at  least  a  possible  one,  if  not  the  whole  truth 
about  the  matter.  Perhaps,  after  all,  ances- 
tor worship  is  not  confined  to  the  East,  for 
in  addition  to  many  Westerners  showing 
particular  deference  to  their  ^^dead,"  we  are 
in  the  habit  of  retaining  something  more 
than  the  memory  of  them.  George  Wash- 
ington appears  in  the  lararium  of  almost 
every  American  drawing-room;  and  West- 
minster Abbey,  ^Hhat  temple  of  silence  and 
reconciliation,"  must,  we  are  informed, 
seem  to  the  Chinese  eyes  far  more  idolatrous 
than  one  of  his  great  ancestral  temples ;  for 
the  Abbey  is  full  of  images,  and  the  ances- 
tral halls  have  none.    It  seems,  therefore. 


« (( 


New  China  and  Old,"  p.  195.    By  Archdeacon  Moule. 

177 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

that  we  are  no  more  justified  in  expecting 
the  Chinese  to  cease  reverencing  their  de- 
parted friends  and  relations,  than  they 
would  be  in  demanding  that  we  destroy  the 
photographs  or  paintings  or  statues  of  our 
deceased  parents,  children,  and  friends; 
and  sweep  from  our  churches,  cathedrals, 
abbeys,  and  public  places  all  the  represen- 
tations in  stone,  pigment,  and  glass  of  he- 
roes, martyrs  and  worthies  whose  memories 
we  love  to  cherish,  and  whose  lives  we  con- 
sider worthy  of  imitation. 

That  the  Chinese  go  much  further  than 
the  performance  of  rites  and  ceremonies  in 
connection  with  their  dead  is  well  known. 
The  famous  Secret  Sect,  which  has  its 
branches  throughout  China,  appears  to  be 
something  like  an  organised  psychical 
movement.  During  its  meetings  the  leader 
is  supposed  to  be  under  the  influence  of 
some  spiritual  power  which  entrances  him; 
and  while  in  that  condition  he  '^sees  visions 
and  dreams  dreams."  Another  example  of 
what  Spiritualists  call  ** spirit  control"  is 
mentioned  by  Archdeacon  Moule. 

"I  passed  by  a  low  hut  one  day,  among 
178 


ANTIQUITY  OF  SPIRITUALISM 

the  hills,  before  which  a  great  crowd  stood, 
some  of  them  pressing  through  the  dark 
door,  but  some  of  them  listening,  and  watch- 
ing outside.  The  crowd  moved  as  I  ap- 
proached, and  I  saw  a  young  man  swaying 
to  and  fro  in  great  emotion,  and  muttering 
some  incomprehensible  words.  He  was  pos- 
sessed, they  told  me,  by  the  soul  of  a  man 
recently  dead ;  and  with  hushed  and  almost 
awe-struck  interest,  they  were  listening  to 
the  words."*  Let  us  not  forget  these  won- 
derful people,  who  retain  the  beliefs  which 
more  materially  progressive  races  have  long 
since  lost,  are  characterised  more  by  the 
philosophical  sense  than  by  religious  emo- 
tions. They  look  to  the  great  philosophers, 
Laotse  and  Confucius,  for  spiritual  guid- 
ance, rather  than  to  a  sheer  abandonment  of 
thought  in  favour  of  feeling.  Emotion  is 
not  a  strong  feature  of  the  yellow  race ;  and 
this  makes  them  more  capable  of  judging 
the  accuracy  or  otherwise  of  psychic  phe- 
nomena. 

No  lengthy  mention  need  be  made  of  the 
persistence   of  the  belief  in  spirit  inter- 

*md.,  p.  175. 

179 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

course  among  the  many  primitive  races.  It 
seems,  without  exception,  the  cardinal  point 
in  all  their  creeds.  Their  tutelary  Gods  are 
frequently  the  spirits  of  their  own  fathers 
or  grandfathers,  as  in  the  case  of  the  famous 
Matabele  chief,  Lobengula.  Medicine  men 
and  witch  doctors  are  distinguished  from 
their  fellow  tribesmen  by  the  wonderful 
psychic  powers  they  are  supposed  to  be  able 
to  exert.  But  other  persons  besides  recog- 
nised sorcerers  are  believed  less  frequently 
to  be  subject  to  inspiration  from  the  unseen 
world. 

What  is  more  interesting,  is  that  Europe 
has  never  been  without  personal  testimony 
of  these  things.  It  has  had  its  saints  and 
great  characters,  who,  like  St.  Theresa  and 
Joan  of  Arc,  heard  strange  voices,  saw  vi- 
sions, and  possessed  gifts  of  prophecy  or  of 
healing  that  were  certainly  not  of  this 
world.  There  were  also  many  of  lesser  note, 
whose  only  reward  in  the  intolerant  Middle 
Ages  was  imprisonment,  torture  or  death. 
No  one  can  read  of  the  terrors  of  the  witch- 
craft persecutions  without  a  sigh  at  the  ex- 
cesses into  which  ignorance  hurried  often 

180 


ANTIQUITY  OF  SPIRITUALISM 

the  best  of  the  land ;  and  the  intense  agony 
inflicted  upon  thousands  of  our  fellow  crea- 
tures by  the  hand  of  bigotry.  Yet  there  can 
be  little  doubt  that  many  of  the  wonderful 
things  attributed  to  the  unfortunates  who 
were  dragged  with  jeers  and  curses  before 
their  relentless  judges  were  actually  per- 
formed by  them.  Before  the  advent  of  Mod- 
ern Spiritualism  and  its  long  line  of  scien- 
tific inquirers  one  might  well  hesitate  to  say 
this,  but  it  is  now  difficult  to  deny  it.  After 
allowance  has  been  made  for  falsehood  and 
exaggeration,  a  great  deal  is  left  over  unac- 
counted for  except  by  psychic  science;  and 
of  this  much  bears  the  unmistakable  impres- 
sion of  spiritual  agencies.  No  doubt  many 
of  the  confessions  wrung  from  the  lips  of 
the  helpless  victims  by  the  torturer  were  due 
only  to  the  desire  to  escape  further  torment, 
but  many  of  these  unfortunate  mortals  were 
unquestionably  good  mediums.  The  seeing 
of  spirits,  healing  of  the  sick,  foretelling  of 
events,  and  sometimes — as  in  the  case  of 
poor  Bessie  Dunlop — the  actual  material- 
isation on  the  part  of  spirit  entities  were  ex- 
perienced.   One  can  speak  more  confidently 

181 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISMS 

of  Bessie  Dunlop  because  nothing  could  per- 
suade her  to  deny  the  goodness  of  Thorn, 
the  spirit  whom  she  and  her  neighbours 
claimed  to  help  her  in  her  labour  of  love  and 
service  among  her  fellow  citizens.  Thom, 
she  said,  was  the  spirit  of  one  Thom  Reid, 
who  had  been  killed  at  the  Battle  of  Pinkie, 
twenty-nine  years  before.  Wonderful  as 
were  the  good  deeds  he  did  through  his  me- 
dium, he  could  not  save  her  from  the  bitter- 
ness of  her  death,  for  she  was  **  convict  and 
brynt"  upon  the  Castle  Hill,  Edinburgh. 

How  much  better  it  would  have  been  for 
the  human  race  had  people  like  Bessie  Dim- 
lop  received  sympathetic  treatment,  and 
their  remarkable  claims  examined,  none  can 
say ;  but  it  is  not  without  reason  to  conclude 
that  progress  would  have  been  accelerated 
in  several  respects.  There  might  never  have 
been  that  gulf  between  religion  and  science 
which  has  loomed  so  conspicuously  on  our 
mental  horizons  during  the  last  hundred 
years ;  for  science  would  more  quickly  have 
discovered  evidence  proving  that  a  spiritual 
world  exists  and  that  the  human  family,  so 
far  from  being  threatened  with  extinction  at 

182 


ANTIQUITY  OF  SPIRITUALISM 

death,  really  through  it  is  resurrected  to  a 
superior  state  of  existence. 

How  much  longer  this  duty  would  have 
been  neglected  but  for  Modern  Spiritualism 
it  is  impossible  to  tell.  It  has  been  Spirit- 
ualism's  particular  task  to  emphasise  the 
importance  of  paying  serious  attention  to  all 
forms  of  psychic  phenomena.  Whether  it 
has  always  adopted  the  wisest  method  for 
the  accomplishment  of  this  will,  no  doubt, 
be  a  matter  of  controversy ;  but  that  it  has 
already  in  part  succeeded  no  one  can  justly 
deny.  This  has  been  no  easy  task.  The  op- 
position has  been  bitter,  and  often  stimu- 
lated by  a  groundless  contempt  or  a  pur- 
poseless fear.  It  has  had  to  dash  itself  con- 
stantly against  the  rock  of  long  established 
ignorance,  prejudice  and  scepticism,  but  not 
without  avail.  To  Christians  it  speaks  with 
a  direct  appeal.  The  spiritual  world  which 
they  believe  exists  and  which  they  believe 
acted  on  the  material  world  two  thousand 
years  ago  is  no  figment  of  the  imagination. 
Modem  Spiritualism  proclaims  it  to  be  even 
now  a  demonstrable  fact.  Surely  this  is  im- 
portant!  ** Never,  perhaps,  did  man's  spir- 

183 


WHAT  IS  THIS  SPIRITUALISM? 

itual  satisfaction  bear  a  smaller  proportion 
to  his  needs  than  it  does  to-day.'' 

Let  it  be  clearly  understood  that  the  Spir- 
itualist makes  no  claim  to  infallibility  on 
matters  spiritual.  He  merely  speaks  of 
things  as  he  has  found  them.  It  may  be 
that  for  generations  to  come  patient  effort 
will  be  required  to  unravel  fully  the  often 
confused  phenomena  which  give  us  trace  of 
the  spiritual  world;  but  the  inquiry  is  full 
of  promise.  Already  it  convinces  us  that 
with  the  persistence  of  consciousness,  there 
is  the  persistence  also  of  love  and  justice ;  a 
strengthening  of  all  that  in  the  best  sense 
mankind  has  agreed  to  call  good.  And  if  it 
should  not  confirm  the  darker  pictures  which 
the  unlearned  mind  and  distorted  imagina- 
tions of  men  have  conjured  up  in  connection 
with  the  hereafter,  surely  that  is  no  loss  but 
a  great  gain.  The  Spiritualist  is  convinced 
that  before  each  of  us  there  lies  a  path  of 
eternal  progress,  and  all  who  will  may  tread 
therein,  just  as  he  is  convinced  that  for  all 
who  sin  there  is  punishment  of  a  retributive 
nature,  and  for  all  righteousness  a  sure  and 
fitting  reward;   and  remember,  above  all 

184 


ANTIQUITY  OF  SPIRITUALISM 

things,  that  he  believes  these  not  because  he 
has  been  taught  to  believe  them  as  articles 
of  faith,  but  because  he  considers  he  has 
received  evidence  which  compels  him  to  ac- 
cept them  as  matters  of  fact. 


FINIS 


185 


M 


FOURTEEN  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 


This 


«M!g: 


last  date  stamped  below,  or 
on  tncaaterXD  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


ZJllAYslibll 
SUMMER 


OURiNG 
SESSIONS 


OgC     7  1955 


LIBRARY 


JAN  24  1965 


JftNl5ftt:CU-10AM 


m?.    ^968 


JUN    4REC'D-(3PM 


LD  21-100m-2,'55 
(B139s22)476 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


U.C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 

lllllillil 

C03Db737fl3 


vi 


/ 

0~^ 


^^ 


* 


f 


